Schoharie - TVHS bus becomes a moving classroom
02.23.10
For more than two hours each day, a group of students from the Schoharie School District sit on a school bus commuting to and from classes at Tech Valley High School. For much of the last two years, that time has been idle time for the students where they socialize, read or listen to music.
However, starting this week, students will be able to work online in what can best be described as a "roaming classroom."
Thanks to the Schoharie School District and Capital Region BOCES' Northeast Regional Information Center (NERIC), the students will be able to instant message and email teachers, download homework and complete projects online. that's because the Schoharie School District has installed w WIFI device on the school bus and is providing students with access to the Internet.
The device was provided by NERIC for free and the internet access is costing Schoharie less than $200 a year or about 13 cents per student per day. The device can provide access for up to five students at a time. The bus carries four students from Schoharie and two from the Berne-Knox-Westerlo schools.
Schoharie Superintendent Brian Sherman said the idea for providing the internet access to the students after talking with the students about the commute.
"The idea came from my discussions with the students about homework assignments and travel time and remembering an article about Google employees working on company buses while commuting to work. It counted as work time for the employees."
While the bus time won't count as school time, it will provide a welcome opportunity for the TVHS students to complete some of the homework and projects they must complete almost daily.
"It will be nice to make better use of my time and to be able to get some of my work done, " said freshman Billy Ennist.“Having access to the internet is quickly becoming a necessary component to a 21st century education. TVHS is a regional school, so students have to dedicate a significant amount of time to transportation. Having access to online resources during that commute is a huge contribution to the education of these students and is the very picture of things to come for all students. I applaud the superintendent for having the vision to support these students and set the standard for internet access for all students,” said Principal Dan Liebert.
