I don't know if this project is a money-saver or not. But for all those kids around South Dakota with long rides to and from school, maybe we can maximize our educational impact by transforming all of our buses into rolling Web classrooms:
One school bus in Arkansas' Pope County has been transformed into a mobile classroom equipped with computer screens mounted to the ceiling, earphone jacks, wireless Internet access and a separate scanning device to record bus activity.
The five 19-inch customized computer screens stream math and science content from PBS, NASA, the Discovery Channel, CBS News and the Smithsonian Institution for students to watch on their hour-long rides to and from school. The screens also include video-conferencing capabilities [Lauren Katims, "High-Tech School Bus Teachers Students on the Road," Government Technology, 2010.12.14].
I know DSU athletes get to travel on a Web-capable bus. Does the tour bus the MHS boosters bought for our athletes have that capability? Kids could travel to games during the day and still watch class via webcam!
Web buses could have application beyond giving the kids a chance to do homework and web-chat with teachers on the way home. Perhaps we should start up a Web bus service for commuters from Madison to Sioux Falls. Just hook up some satellite wireless and let all the adults enjoy a couple extra hours a day of laptop productivity while the bus driver keeps things between the ditches.
This is definitely not the way to spend money effectively. The computer is not the salvation of education. Why not use the present capabilities and show videos that broaden the students' horizons.
If trucks resembling mobile MRI scanners could be designed to satellite outlying rural communities the number of counties could be significantly reduced. Teleconferencing magistrates could hear cases from similarly-equipped trucks.
Like kids on a bus trip for athletics or the like are going to be doing homework??!
We could just do away with the buses altogether and beam lessons by Internet straight to every child's home. Pretty hard for kids to bully each other if they're in separate houses.
Indeed, Larry, make sure every household has Internet, and you make possible all sorts of remote service and consolidation. But is that what we want?
Linda, I studied on the bus... especially when pretty girls needed help with algebra.