Purpose of the Guide
We are living in a world where information technology is increasingly driving change. We see daily reminders in the media; newspapers, magazines, television, in the work-place, and our daily lives about the Information Super Highway. Educators wonder what it all means and can it really do something to reform education.
The K-12 Network Technology Planning Guide is intended to help school administrators, teachers, and technology directors sort through the confusion and develop a base for understanding technical issues relating to network planning. The Guide provides an in-depth view of the major areas which must be considered when schools are developing their technology plans. It lays the foundation for the planning that needs to occur. For this reason, a consultant or technical specialist is recommended, to configure a network that fits the school's environment and addresses specific needs and requirements.
Background
The K-12 Network Technology Planning Guide was initiated by the California Department of Education's (CDE)Technical Planning Committee (TPC), in response to requests from the K-12 education community across California. Bringing awareness and knowledge of network technology to educators was a commitment of the committee because it was believed that communications networking could restructure and enhance teaching and learning in California's classrooms. This direction is consistent with a report released by the National Education Goals Panel, "Achieving Educational Excellence by Increasing Access to Knowledge," July 1993, which states:
"The pre-k/12 community must be awakened to the enriched educational opportunities afforded by internetworked communications and information access, and be open to the challenge and possibilities of this emerging technology frontier."
With this commitment in mind, the Technical Planning Committee, comprised of representatives from K-12 districts, county offices of education, higher education, network providers and the CDE began meeting to discuss issues of networked communications technology among schools linked via the Internet (the network of networks which is the foundation for the Information Super Highway. See Section I, Chapter 1). The TPC defined as its mission:
To plan and coordinate the internetworking of all California K-12 schools in a technically sound, cost-effective architecture enabling schools to participate equitably in the emerging National Research and Education Network (NREN) in support of instruction, school administration, and teacher education. (May 1992)
Members of the committee met with educators across the state, including superintendents, teachers, information and educational technology directors, and students to try to better understand the real issues schools face as they deal with technology, and to better determine what the committee could do to promote and address effective network communications technology. As the TPC visited schools and district offices it became apparent that there was replication of research and planning and the struggle to unravel the issues of network technology. Each school or district office seemed to start at "ground zero" without having the benefit of what others had already learned. There was very little sharing with one another of insights gained, or plans made by a school, district, or county office of education.
From these meetings, three factors that schools and districts most often stated as predominant deterrents to developing communications network plans became apparent: 1) lack of leadership, 2) lack of funding, and 3) lack of technical support.
On the other hand, committee members met with a number of districts, county offices of education and schools that had made a commitment to technology planning and were restructuring and shifting funds to make networked communication a reality in their schools. Invariably, those we spoke to asked that the CDE take a leadership role and pave the way for the planning and development of communications networking.
In order to address this challenge, one of the first goals of the Technical Planning Committee was to define the internetworking standards for communications, which the committee determined must be based on the Internet protocols (explained in the letter at the end of this Introduction). The CDE adopted the Internet protocols and recommended this approach in a letter sent to all districts and county offices of education in October 1993. A second goal was to develop written information that would assist schools and districts in understanding requirements for developing network technology plans.
As the TPC discussed these issues, the K-12 Network Technology Planning Guide evolved. It was determined that presenting only the technical aspects of building networks would address only a small part of the issue. In order to set the stage for schools and districts to realize success with technology, it became equally important to stress staff development and technical support. The heart of the document then became three pronged: 1) presenting the technical network model (Section III), 2) addressing the training (staff development) requirements (Section IV), and 3) presenting technical network support issues (Section III). As indicated by the conclusions of the "Telecommunications and K-12 Educators: Findings from a National Survey," (Honey and Henriques, 1993), "In order for telecommunications to become a widely used educational resource, administrators and policy makers must implement the following:
- teacher training and support;
- school and district planning for integration of telecommunications into instruction and administration;
- time in the school schedule for professional and student learning activities;
- effective assessment measures;
- financial support;
- multiple phone lines or local area networks in schools."
It was further determined that the technical network model would be designed for scalability and interoperability. This means the network that is put in place in the school must be designed to handle advances in technology without being replaced, and that it can interface with various types of communications networks using a common protocol. Based on this design, schools will be positioned to take advantage of emerging technologies and telecommunications planning for development of the Golden State Education Network (GSEN) and its fit with the Information Super Highway -- the National Information Infrastructure.
The committee also determined that to be truly effective the Guide needed to address other critical issues, so that educators would gain the fullest possible insight into developing a truly vital plan for implementing network technology within their environment. These issues are defined in more detail in the following section on The Structure of the Guide.
The National Education Goals Panel describes "The Desirability of Using Network Technology to Achieve Educational Excellence" by presenting four "major rationales for deployment and utilization:
- Support and Accelerate Systemic Change for Educational Excellence;
- Reconstruct and Improve Teaching;
- Expand and Enrich Learning Opportunities;
- Link Schools and Society to Improve Economic Productivity and Encourage Lifelong Learning."
"Internetworked communications and access to information is a rich curricular resource and an invitation to inquiry and exchange. This medium offers a dramatically decentralized and essentially democratic learning environment. Abundant resources available on-line suggest new ways of accessing information, generating and disseminating knowledge, working independently and collaboratively, (unbounded by the physical limitations of place and time or the personal characteristics of participants). Pervasive, real-time communication creates a new context for thinking and interacting and presents unprecedented pedagogic opportunities for exchanging ideas and information and creating 'virtual' labs and classrooms and enriched teaching and learning."
It is because of these larger benefits that the K-12 Network Technology Planning Guide was developed, and it is our sincere hope that, given commitment and effort, we can all have a part in changing education in California.
Structure of the Guide
The Guide is designed to address more than the technical issues of planning and designing network technology. As will be seen, there is a breadth of information that will assist readers to understand the issues related to network technology.
Part I - The Background introduces you to the emerging role of networks and networking in the state and the nation.
Part II - Making the Case outlines many of the immediate benefits of networking and provides examples of ways in which a school or district might can achieve maximum return on its investments in network technology.
Part III -The Technical Plan presents sufficiently detailed design parameters and planning guidelines to enable a school or district to work with experts to implement a cost effective, high quality network which will be compatible with statewide information network services. The Technical Model is intended to address issues of expandable and upgradable systems which anticipate changes as technology improves and user-demand increases.
Part IV - Training the Staff suggests approaches to providing staff development, and identifies some of the resources available to help schools and districts implement training programs.
Appendices A through F are intended to enhance the readers understanding of network planning, including:
Appendix A - Networking Progress Reports describes how a number of schools, districts and county offices of education are dealing with network technology;
Appendix B - Selecting Dialup Connections explains how to begin communication and access to resources prior to the installation of the local area network and direct Internet access;
Appendix C - Internet Service Providers identifies costs and services of the various Internet service providers and explains what it means to have a real Internet connection;
Appendix D - Other Resources lists readily available resources, books, journal articles, on-line documents about networking and planning;
Appendix E - Appropriate Use Policies describes issues that should be addressed as schools make local and wide area network access available to students. This appendix also includes examples of appropriate use policies adopted by schools already using the Internet.
Appendix F - Future Technology provides options to consider as technology advances.
The Glossary will help the reader understand any unfamiliar terms.
How to Use the Guide
Reading the various chapters of the Guide it will be noticed that chapters seem to be written to various audiences. This is true for a good reason. The authors wanted to construct a document that covered a variety of issues, all relative to communications network technology. In order to offer this in-depth understanding, some chapters are understandably more technical, while others are designed for more general information to introduce the reader to issues, concepts and less technical planning issues.
To help readers through the myriad of information contained in the Guide, and to help zero-in on specific areas of interest, a navigator has been designed to indicate the degree of technical difficulty. The navigator appears in the top right corner of each chapter with an arrow indicating general knowledge to most technical knowledge, as shown in Figure 1. Figures (PDF; 36.8KB; 3pp.)
