Microsoft designs Philly high school

Asher · September 5, 2003, 09:27

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/6691478.htm

Quote:

Microsoft to design city high school
By Susan Snyder
Inquirer Staff Writer

A $46 million high school dazzling with the latest technology - from interactive digital textbooks and computerized tablets to electronic play diagrams for the basketball team - will be built by the Philadelphia School District in partnership with the Microsoft Corp., officials announced today.

Planned for 700 students at a location not yet chosen, the school will be embedded with wireless, mobile technology for every school function from keeping attendance to ordering cafeteria meals and school supplies.

"We have the premier techological entrepreneur teaming with us - absolutely incredible," said James Nevels, chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission.

While the Seattle-based software giant has worked with other schools around the world, the Philadelphia school will become Microsoft's most comprehensive education venture, its officials said.

"We're looking at how technology can impact all aspects of the school - the way learning and teaching goes on in the classroom and also in how the school is operated," said Anthony Salcito, a Microsoft director. "We will create a school that operates more effectively and more efficiently."

The school, yet unnamed, is set to open in Sept. 2006, but district chief executive officer Paul G. Vallas said today that he hopes to have it ready a year earlier.

It will be one of 11 new high schools to be funded by the district's five-year $1.5 billion capital plan. Officials for the district and Microsoft are hopeful that it will become a local and national model, with programs and techniques can be used in other district schools. For that reason, it will be built on a budget similar to the other new city schools being planned.

Microsoft's contribution will not be monetary, but services worth millions of dollars, including a full-time on-site project manager, planning and design expertise, staff training and ongoing technology support. It plans to bring in other technology partners.

The company's reward is the opportunity to design a school using technology in every way possible from the ground up - a prototype it could then market.

The company came to Philadelphia at the request of Vallas, who has made school partnerships a focus of his year-old leadership. Vallas, Mayor Street and Nevels announced the venture with Microsoft at a ceremony today at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts in South Philadelphia.

"Microsoft came here because we asked, simple as that," Vallas said.

Wanda Miles, Microsoft's executive director of learning technologies, said the company has a "strong commitment to learning, and learning starts at the school district level."

The company last month partnered with a Florida school where seventh-grade students will receive digital textbooks, tablet PCs with screens that translate handwritten words digitally, 24-hour access to homework help and other services.

For those who might criticize such a corporate presence in a public school, district officials emphasized that Microsoft will not manage the school.

"They will be in an advisory capacity. We're still running the school," said Ellen Savitz, the district's chief development officer. "There's no fear of a corporation somehow overtaking the educational focus."

While the school will be loaded with technology, that will not become its learning theme. Officials envision a regular academic high school.

And, admission will not be based on academic ability.

"The objective is to bring innovations to the school for the average graduate and put that graduate on a legitimate college-prep track," Vallas said.

The exact admission process should be in place by January 2005, Savitz said. An independent board of community members will be established to help set the criteria and oversee the school, she said.

Officials are sure that some students will come from the neighborhood, while others will be accepted from around the city, she said. Competition for placement is expected to be strong.

Several sites for the school are being considered by Microsoft and the school district but officials declined to elaborate.

So new are the plans that district and Microsoft officials said they could not anticipate how many computers would be installed or describe what a classroom will look like.

"Technology continues to evolve, so we're not making decisions based on today's technology. We're trying to push the envelope so that when the school opens, it represents the future," Salcito said. "We also have to figure out how technology will evolve after the school opens."

But some details seem certain: Students will get PDAs, 24-hour access to homework help and class assignments. Parents will communicate online with teachers. The library will be integrated with online services.

One district official called it a "paperless" school, although Microsoft officials acknowledged that paper will always be needed.

Microsoft plans to work with textbook companies that have begun making interactive digital textbooks that students can highlight and write notes in.

"We want to take advantage of simulation and gaming technology to enrich learning," added Miles.

Nevels said the project is the most extensive partnership with a corporation that the district has undertaken. Earlier this summer, district officials announced that they would partner with the Franklin Institute - a city landmark known for its science education – to build a science and technology-oriented high school.

Would the tinfoil hat gentlemen please step forward?

JohnT · September 5, 2003, 09:31

One old-time truism has that education isn't necessarily improved by throwing money at it... in time, a new truism will emerge that education isn't necessarily improved by throwing technology at it.

We shall see.

Rufus T. Firefly · September 5, 2003, 09:44

Kids, of course, are especially excited about the news that the new school will shut down unexpectedly at least once a day.

JohnT · September 5, 2003, 09:49

No lunch for you! The server is down!

FrustratedPoet · September 5, 2003, 09:53

Albert Speer will love this.

General Ludd · September 5, 2003, 09:59

Quote:

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
Albert Speer will love this.

It'll be an exclusive school for the wealthy suburbanites, of course.

MikeH · September 5, 2003, 10:04

Apparently you have to open and close all the windows twice a day.

Traianvs · September 5, 2003, 10:43

boy I want to see this... it'll be chaos and mayhem all over the place!

die mirco$oft die!

Harry Seldon · September 5, 2003, 11:09

Even beyond the Microsoft angle, imagine if the power goes out. All your text books are gone, communicatoin crumbles, no library.

General Ludd · September 5, 2003, 12:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Harry Seldon
Even beyond the Microsoft angle, imagine if the power goes out. All your text books are gone, communicatoin crumbles, no library.

I laughed at how so few stores where open during the blackout because none of the cash registers where working and only a few stores knew how to do buisness without them.

Timexwatch · September 5, 2003, 12:29

I believe the school mascot will be the "Blue Screen of Death"...

Harry Seldon · September 5, 2003, 13:57

Will the cheerleaders be called "Asher's Girls" or "Bill's Babes?"

MattH · September 5, 2003, 14:57

It sounds nice... But: Will the teacher take the time to learn everything? Who's going to teach them? How much will the training cost? Who will administer everything? How much will the administrators cost? Will they take away internet access when the students hack NASA or start downloading pr0n? And most importantly, Why does a basketball team need tablet PCs?

mrmitchell · September 5, 2003, 17:59

I'm waiting for Asher to start claiming how it's better that all places have exactly the same buggy school.

Japher · September 5, 2003, 18:03

Where's Speers? He'd love this.

Nubclear · September 5, 2003, 18:12

What if the SCHOOL becomes infected with a virus

Ben Kenobi · September 5, 2003, 18:40

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Kids, of course, are especially excited about the news that the new school will shut down unexpectedly at least once a day.

ROTFLMAO!

Urban Ranger · September 5, 2003, 23:04

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Originally posted by mrmitchell
I'm waiting for Asher to start claiming how it's better that all places have exactly the same buggy school.

It's not a bug, it's a feature

Drake Tungsten · September 5, 2003, 23:07

What a waste of money.

Urban Ranger · September 5, 2003, 23:08

[Glonkie mode]

You are all wearing tinfoil hats!

[/Glonkie mode]

Zylka · September 5, 2003, 23:23

FUNNY

JohnT · September 5, 2003, 23:24

Zylka, why are you using UR's avatar?

Asher · September 6, 2003, 01:49

Quote:

Originally posted by Harry Seldon
Even beyond the Microsoft angle, imagine if the power goes out. All your text books are gone, communicatoin crumbles, no library.

1) Are you aware of wonderful devices called batteries that the virtual textbooks use?
2) Are you aware of wonderful devices called UPS' that are used for communication backups?
3) If the power goes out in any library, it's really useles,s unless it has a glass roof. At a public highschool, that seems somewhat unlikely.

Quote:

[Glonkie mode]

You are all wearing tinfoil hats!

[/Glonkie mode]

Splendid, once again you show that you've not a clue what you're talking about, even when trying to take a simple poke at me.

Tinfoil hat people are ones that are chanting "Microsoft is going to use all of the information they collect to go tell kids' parents that they viewed porn! Repent, repent...".

Tinfoil Hat people have nothing to do with this thread.

At least have the intelligence to take potshots correctly, man. It's bad form otherwise.

Jack_www · September 6, 2003, 01:54

I think this is cool, I wish I could have gone to a high school like that.

Kuciwalker · September 6, 2003, 01:55

Quote:

Originally posted by Harry Seldon
Even beyond the Microsoft angle, imagine if the power goes out. All your text books are gone, communicatoin crumbles, no library.

Virtually all schools have backup generators. I'd assume that this would DEFINATELY have one.

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And, admission will not be based on academic ability.

That's stupid.

Harry Seldon · September 6, 2003, 03:39

Quote:

1) Are you aware of wonderful devices called batteries that the virtual textbooks use?
2) Are you aware of wonderful devices called UPS' that are used for communication backups?
3) If the power goes out in any library, it's really useles,s unless it has a glass roof. At a public highschool, that seems somewhat unlikely.

1. Are you aware how quickly most batteries die in high tech devices?
2. Have you ever seen a UPS that lasted longer than sixty minutes with more than a monitor and a decent server plugged in?
3. My high school library had windows. Hopefully their school does too.

Asher · September 6, 2003, 03:42

Quote:

Originally posted by Harry Seldon
1. Are you aware how quickly most batteries die in high tech devices?

Most high tech devices use recharable li-ion batteries which can lost quite a long time. My portable MP3 player lasts 11-12 hours (20GB HD-based), my laptop (1.5GHz Pentium M, 768MB RAM) lasts around 7 hours.

All of the "virtual" textbooks I've seen proposed are variations of tablet PCs, with li-ion batteries...

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2. Have you ever seen a UPS that lasted longer than sixty minutes with more than a monitor and a decent server plugged in?

If the power is out for 60 minutes or longer, you're not doing much in school, period. Technology or not.

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3. My high school library had windows. Hopefully their school does too.

My high school libraries have never had Windows, and I doubt most have sufficient lighting anyway. Not to mention most libraries are computerized, anyway.

geeslaka · September 6, 2003, 03:44

Anyone taking bets on how long the school will go before it gets robbed?

Drake Tungsten · September 6, 2003, 03:50

How about we take all this money that is about to be wasted on "virtual" textbooks and use it to by all the students in Philly real textbooks? Wouldn't that make more sense?

geeslaka · September 6, 2003, 03:59

Bad idea. If your plan was followed, Microsoft wouldn't get a PR boost. Also, the more people use MSW at school, the less they will be able to adapt to something else. Inability to adapt will make a large portion of the economy dependent on MS. We'll be back in the middle ages again, except higher tech(which does not neccessarily mean higher education).