Technology is an important part of accomplishing that mission. With the primary goal of enhancing student learning, in September of 1994 the San Juan Board of Education directed staff to make sure computer labs at every district school had access to the Internet by July of 1995. This mandate will make available an additional 1,600 instructional computers with direct Internet access. Future expansion will focus on campuswide networks with computers in every classroom. The connectivity of the district network will allow for student collaboration among schools worldwide.
Experiments are in process using CUSeeMe technology to develop multimedia presentations among sites.
At the time, this design provided a cost effective solution. However, it quickly reached its expansion limits, and the upgrading process began. Wide area links are also being upgraded to full T-1 lines to address the increased traffic requirements of instructional computing. San Juan has created a specification for campus networks that includes a fiber optic backbone and 10BaseT connections to each computer using category 5 UTP wire. Where possible, to minimize labor costs, district rewiring projects have involved simultaneous wiring for telephone, security, computer, TV cable, and fire alarm.