York schools get $10M IT boost

Using the Internet in some York Region public schools can be a lot like going to the video store and finding the movie you want isn’t in.

It’s just not reliable.

Teachers often create fantastic lesson plans, allocate class time and build their student’s anticipation only to find they can’t launch the website they need.

“ We lose too many teachable moments in our classrooms because resources are not available,” says Paulla Bennett, manager of information technology for the York District School Board.

That’s why the board is spending $ 10 million over 10 years to build a new wide area network — a centralized system of fibreoptics that will link all its schools to one another and the Internet.

It’s scheduled to be completed in April. Access to videoconferencing technology is concentrated in a few hub schools so elementary classes that want to use it usually have to take a bus to a high school. The new network will make international experts and cross- country collaboration available in virtually every York classroom, says Bennett.

“ There are fewer distractions and more engagement if it’s happening in their own environment,” she said. The network will give all teachers access to video- streaming, relatively new online classroom resources that allow them to create lesson plans off the Internet, similar to the playlists music lovers program into their iPods.