Using that money, and the help of volunteers who donated time to help wire the district's schools on designated NetDays, the district has broadly expanded its networking capabilities, Holthouse says. The state has not provided us with extra money there. Public school 8th graders' reports on the frequency of computer use for mathematics. Despite its lack of funding, the department of education is clearly supportive of districts wishing to do more to integrate technology in their classrooms, Stayrook says. But they have done a lot in the way of motivating schools to use technology.
Alaskan educators say the private sector has helped pick up some of the slack.
British Petroleum, the state's leading oil company, donated several hundred used computers to the schools last year. In the process, the company set up 25 technical training centers and paid for teacher training, software, and cables for schools that received the computing equipment.