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"Three-quarters of online teens (78%) say the Internet helps them do their schoolwork - 47% say it helps them a lot."
 * Week 1**

This quote came from The Internet and Education: Findings of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

There has been an aggressive national campaign to bring computers and the Internet into schools, which is definitely a good thing. Most teenagers agree that the Internet's ability to help them with their schoolwork and to help them learn new things is one of it's best features. The Internet is an invaluable educational tool, and knowledge of and use of the Internet is an essential aspect of communication today.

"Good-to-great organizations avoid technology fads and bandwagons, yet they become pioneers in the application of carefully selected technologies."
 * Week 2**

This quote is from "The Five Best Accelerators in Schools" by Robert Moore.

I find a lot of truth in this quote. The better organizations will not go and buy the latest technologies simply because everyone else is buying it. They will hold off and buy only the best technologies and will be the leaders in technology.

"In districts where the majority of parents may not have Internet access, we have seen schools establish creative partnerships with public libraries, malls, or even grocery stores, and set up a portal to the school system at that partner’s physical location."
 * Week 3**

This quote came from The Evolution of Student Informaton Systems by Robert Darby and Tim Hughes.

I can't explain how important it is that all students and parents have access to the Internet so they can keep up with grades, assignments, school news, etc. For the lower income school districts that can't afford this luxury, they need to at least set up partnerships like the ones listed above so that these families can still access this material.

"While academic achievement is the end goal for the students, there are many other logistical factors that must be considered when designing a technology model for a classroom learning environment in a school or district".
 * Week 4**

(2005). Essential Conditions for Implementing NETS for Administrators. Retrieved July 27, 2006, from NETS for Administrators Web site.

I couldn't agree more with this quote. Other factors that should be considered include, but are not limited to the following: the original cost of the equipment, cost of replacing the equipment, the purpose for selecting the equipment, professional development for the teachers so that they can learn to use the new equipment.

I definitely believe that Internet filtering is important so that our students aren't subjected to inappropriate materials. The main problem in our district is that too many sites are blocked that don't need to be. Students are constantly asking me why certain sites are blocked when all they are trying to do is look up information for a class project. I think our filtering system needs to be scaled back a bit. iPrism is the ideal school Internet filter solution, because it centralizes management of multiple computers in a single configuration. It's even possible to provide a district-wide school Internet filter through a single appliance by installing iPrism at the wide-area network access point for the school district.
 * Week 5**