Last spring, the city launched a pilot program to provide a free laptop for every student at seven middle schools on the Upper West Side The “One-to-One in Ten” program (so named because it takes place in School District 10 and aims to achieve a one-to-one student to laptop ratio) had a modest beginning. But City Councilmember Gale Brewer, the chair of the council’s technology committee who championed the program and represents most of the Upper West Side, hopes that every public middle school student in New York City some day will have access to a laptop at school. Eventually some advocates thought the students might even be able to take their computers home at night.
Brewer’s enthusiasm is based upon research that shows that using laptops encourage students to engage more deeply with their coursework. The so-called one-to-one programs also seek to prepare students for the technologically driven world in which they live and to close the digital divide between students who have computers and those whose families may not be able to afford them.
But a problem has arisen: There is little evidence that students who use laptops in class do better on standardized tests than students who do not. Since President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, a school’s aggregate performance on standardized tests has become of foremost concern for school administrators. Given this reality, a national backlash against laptops in the classroom is brewing just as New York City has begun to embrace the trend.
New York City is far from alone in using laptops for educational purposes. Maine has launched a similar program, and many Maine teachers who worked in one-to-one laptop initiatives are now advising others about how to begin similar programs. A study of 2,500 of the country’s largest school districts conducted last year found an increasing number gave all students and teachers computers connected to the Internet, sometimes for use at home as well as at school.
In general, though, evidence seems to be emerging that technology is not a cure-all for the nation’s classroom. A recent Department of Education study, for example, while not considering the laptop programs, looked at 15 software programs used in schools and found that they did not lead to higher test scores.
On the other hand, as the Times recently reported, school district are seeing a downside to the computers. Many districts find that they spend too much time and money fixing and maintaining the computers. One letter writer to the Times pointed out that maintenance is a greater problem with Windows machines than Apple products. But regardless of the type of computer, students use them to access educationally trivial (and sometimes pornographic) web sites. Students at one suburban Syracuse school, the Times found, used the laptops to exchange test answers and view pornography. When the school tried to stop that, some students found a way around the increased security – and used the computers to tell their fellow students how to do that.
Faced with all of this, school districts that serve a diversity of student populations — some affluent, some poor, and with various ethnic groups — are abandoning their laptops
So, have the defenders of laptops in the classroom lost the debate? Is it time to revert to the chalkboard and the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic? Not so fast, argues Bruce Lai. Lai is Brewer’s chief of staff and an expert on how to increase broadband Internet access in underserved areas of New York City
He points out that many of schools abandoning their laptops programs have students who have ready access to broadband Internet connections at home. He worries, though, that taking a similar step in New York City’s school will “consign working-class students” to a technological apartheid. According to a recent report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, only 21 percent of households with an annual income of $30,000 or less had a broadband connection at home in 2006.
Lai and educational research consultant Saul Rockman also question some of the reasoning that has led schools to abandon laptops. The goal of laptop learning, they say, is not to improve standardized test scores, but rather to capture the imagination of students as they work on projects that would either be impossible or much more difficult without a computer. For example, the students in Maine reportedly used laptops to create a book in Spanish for children in Guatemala, an activity whose benefits are difficult to quantify with standardized tests.
Another barrier to the success of laptop programs is teacher resistance. Instructors who are used to teaching the traditional way may resent the introduction of laptops into their classrooms. “The box gets in the way,” Liverpool, New York, school board president Mark Lawson told the Times.
Teachers who perceive a potential benefit for laptops in their classrooms and are willing to change their teaching style to allow for increased student control of learning are more likely to take a positive view of one to-one laptop programs.
Laptop programs should take this into account. Lai points out that meaningful plans for integrating technology into the classroom – and addressing resistance to change among teachers — are just as important to the success of the computing plan as the laptops themselves.
Such cultural changes take a long time to occur but some are working on it. Teaching Matters is a New York based non-profit that seeks to hasten the process. Believing that technology can improve learning if it is used properly, they provide assistance in the classroom as well as workshops and on line help so teachers can make better use of technology
In the meantime, researchers from Fordham University’s Regional Educational Technology Center have begun to evaluate the efficacy of the “One-to-One in Ten” initiative. Surely there is room for improvement, but one hopes it will find some signs of greater student engagement with their own learning. But that might not be enough. In today’s world, educational assessment is driven by standardized exams, and classroom laptop programs may fail the test.
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At the city council’s stated meeting on May 9, the council members unanimously approved a bill requiring that the fire department be notified of any substantial changes in existing buildings. During the meeting, which also featured the long-delayed swearing in of new City Councilmember Mathieu Eugene and continued debate over whether to rename a street for black activist Sonny Carson, the council passed a resolution in favor of a federal program that would provide money to help those who responded to and worked or lived near the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001. A number of new bills were announced as well.
The measure to improve safety information for firefighters, Bill 553A, was introduced by Councilmember Miguel Martinez and Council Speaker Christine Quinn and passed unanimously.
The proposal arose from the death of two firefighters last summer when the damaged floor of a burning building collapsed. Quinn explained that, in conversations following the accident, firefighters cited the issue of unknown structural problems in buildings. “When work is going on, obviously a structure may be less sound and less secure, and that makes a collapse, like happened that day in the Bronx, more likely,” she said.
The bill requires the buildings department to notify the fire department when permits for substantial renovations are issued. Currently, the fire department receives notice only of permits related to the installation of fire suppression, sprinkler and alarm systems. Amending the administrative code, this bill would expand that requirement also to include all permits involving substantial structural alterations such as changing a one-family home to a two-family home, transforming a facility from commercial to residential or relocating a building’s entrances.
Under the new procedure, when the Department of Buildings issues a so-called ALT 1 Permit for substantial changes, it will tell the fire departments in that jurisdiction within one business day. This is intended to help firefighters prepare more safely and efficiently to extinguish fires in buildings, particularly if their structural integrity may be compromised.
Martinez, chair of the Fire Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, said of the safety initiative, “This is the first step in insuring that our agencies are communicating. This is the first in insuring that when we have a fire department responding to a fire, they have all the information available to them so they can better respond.” Such information, he said, will help “prevent the loss or injury of the responders that are going to that fire.”
The council is considering another measure to enhance safety information through similar communication with the buildings department. Councilmember Gale Brewer recently introduced Intro 496 to require building owners to file floor layout plans with the fire department. Initially, the bill called for the submission of detailed floor plans, but critics like Frank Rici of the Rent Stabilization Association found this to be too onerous, and fire experts described the measure as “pointless.” After public hearings, the bill was changed to require only “flight” plans, specifically how the stories of a building are arranged, such as showing that the 13th floor of a building is instead labeled as the 14th floor.
While proponents say these two measures would increase the information that is available to firefighters on particular buildings, work that goes on without permits will remain undocumented.
The council unanimously passed Resolution 738, which was first introduced by Councilmember Joseph Addabbo Jr., in support of the 9/11 Heroes Health Improvement Act of 2007. This federal legislation sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton would create a grant program for programs providing medical and mental health monitoring, tracking, and treatment for individuals who suffered from ill health effects following their work at Ground Zero after 9/11. The bill would especially support organizations working with those who lack medical benefits or whose expenses go beyond their coverage. The federal bill would authorize $2 billion for such programs between 2008 and 2012. Currently, the act has four other Senate sponsors, including New York’s Charles Schumer. A companion bill in the House of Representatives was introduced by Jerrold Nadler and sponsored by 16 other members of the House, including several from New York State and City.
The Committee on Aging’s Subcommittee on Senior Centers submitted a report on the emergency preparedness of senior centers. The report included recommendations for improvements, such as generators for summer blackouts, contact lists of homebound seniors, and bus service.
Also, the council updated the membership rosters of various subcommittees.
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Last week, City Councilmember Gale Brewer sat down for a live on-line chat with Gotham Gazette and its readers as part of out “Measuring Up” series. The chair of the council’s technology committee, Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, discussed how technology can help citizens learn more about their government and influence its action.
Gotham Gazette: A few years ago you proposed a bill, which passed, that requires the city to make data available from its 311 call center. Has this been successful? What has the data told us?
Gale Brewer: The 311 data is now available on the web. The current commissioner of information technology and telecommunications, Paul Cosgrave, has met regularly with community boards to discuss 311 data. We are hoping that the discussions will lead to real-time data available at the community boards. The 311 system needs the community boards and elected officials to help to solve the complicated issues. We become 311’s follow up!
We become 311’s follow up.
Dick Dadey: What, in your opinion, has been the most successful technology project?
Gale Brewer: 311 would be a good candidate for watching government if the data was divided up to reflect neighborhood issues. As you know, we are working with the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication to develop a system that allows community board staff to get the information in a form that can be manipulated and integrated with their data. Currently the data comes in a pdf form that is too hard to work with.
I also think that the Campaign Finance Board’s website is a good government watcher, but the website of the Board of Elections is hard to navigate. The sites of the City Clerk, Campaign Finance Board, Board of Elections etc. need to be integrated.
Iphigene: What are some of the ways you think data collected by citizens or nongovernmental organizations can be effectively integrated into the city's efforts to track its progress? Could these kinds of partnerships work toward ensuring better city services or would it be too complicated? How could technology facilitate such collaborations?
Gale Brewer: A good question. The Fund for the City of New York has worked with community groups and block associations by giving residents hand-held computers that have a list of neighborhood issues, such as potholes, vacant lots, graffiti, vacant tree pits. etc. Residents walk their neighborhood and punch in data for the issues that need to be addressed. The list could be expanded and residents could do this on a regular basis.
In addition, with an expanded 311 system that can respond to residents and tell them if their problem is resolved (or not), the information on the handheld computers could be integrated into the 311 system. I have had the pleasure of using the handhelds, and I hope that all block associations could utilize them! I also hope that data could be collected by 311 via an email and not just by a phone call.
Residents walk their neighborhoods and punch in data.
Sara Stuart: How do you see technology and the internet facilitating greater citizens participation in zoning and planning issues in the next few years?
Gale Brewer: Great question! The Municipal Art Society has funding and staff who meet regularly with community boards to implement their 197-A planning efforts [to develop community based plans] by using GIS technology (computer mapping). I was a member of a community board for years. Having a map of a zoning project at a meeting makes for a much more informed discussion.
Gotham Gazette: You have been very involved in trying to bridge New York’s digital divide, particularly in the area of broadband access. How can government reach people who for whatever reason are not on line?
Gale Brewer: In December 2005, I passed a law that mandated that the mayor and the City Council jointly appointed a Task Force on Broadband and how it could be used to close the digital divide. The law calls for hearings in all five boroughs. The Task Force had its first meeting in the Bronx, and the second is scheduled in Brooklyn on May 22, 2007, from noon to 2 p.m. at Brooklyn borough hall. All are welcome. (You can respond to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
We have learned (not surprisingly) that the cost of the current carriers (cable and telephone) is too high for many families, that the libraries are not open enough hours to provide books or use of computers, and that there is wireless access in schools (via e-rate), but students are really only able to access two hours a week of computer use. We need more competition, less expensive or free access to Internet, and we need to include Instant Messaging and other forms of communication in the discussion in order to bridge the digital divide. The city's economic development commission is also conducting a study of how New York City should implement a wireless system. We are behind the rest of the world in access to low cost, fast Internet or other technology for communication.
We are behind the rest of the world in access to low cost, fast Internet.
Gotham Gazette: You have proposed a bill that would measure traffic congestion and set goals for reducing it. Everyone knows the city is crowded. Why is measuring congestion so essential to you plan?
Gale Brewer: The Department of Transportation already measures traffic flow throughout the city, including potholes. But with everyone talking about congestion being a major problem, the department does not collect information with a focus on reducing congestion. That doesn't make sense to me. The mayor is proposing congestion pricing as a solution, but we need to know the extent of the problem and where it is the worst.
Congestion plagues Manhattan, but there are traffic problems in all five boroughs. A comprehensive congestion study would allow the City to better strategically target its efforts. That is why I introduced Intro Number 199.
Gotham Gazette: How do the goals you set for reducing congestion fit in with the mayor’s 2030 plan that includes congestion pricing, transit improvements and other congestion reducing measures?
Gale Brewer: If Intro 199 passes, some of the mandated information collected will be health statistics at busy intersections, type of vehicles on the road and alternative forms of transportation including pedestrians and bicyclists. All of this is not collected now. This piece of legislation will require the Department of Transportation to study these various forms of transportation and identify goals on how congestion can be reduced and transit improved throughout the city. The department would then be required to report to the mayor and City Council on a biannual basis with updates on how those goals are being met.
The information collected would better inform the city's strategic plans for congestion pricing, transit improvements, etc. by pinpointing locations where fast and comfortable public transportation should exist before congestion pricing is implemented.
Ralph: You have advocated smart cards to improve bus transit times. Will you require that any smart card be anonymous to protect privacy and to avoid identity theft?
Gale Brewer: Yes, I will advocate that the cards be anonymous. The advantage to the cards is that they allow passengers to move on the bus faster than with Metrocards. However, the technology used in the pilot project on the East Side of Manhattan has had challenges and is not ready for wider implementation.
It is our understanding that there may be security issues. Also only Citibank cards can be used on the current system. I assume that other cards will be used once the challenges are worked out.
Sydney: How does New York compare with other cities in its use of technology to monitor government and are there any particular models or programs elsewhere that you are interested in implementing or borrowing from?
Gale Brewer: That would be a good question for an oversight hearing! We can ask representatives of states that have passed Clean Money Clean Elections laws to testify.Â