Richardson relates from the test market cases. La Porte administrators say that teachers need to find their personal comfort zone with technology before the district's 7,400 students can fully enjoy that result. The district provides substitutes for teachers who need to familiarize themselves with the stations' possibilities during the day - and it pays teachers who attend evening classes in the pods a stipend for their time. That's become a very popular program because we're taking the cost for the substitute and putting it in our teachers' pockets. In Schul's book, the companion instructional guides are the system's true value.
Schools are in the business of educating students.
We were willing to pay for a turnkey solution. La Porte relied on its internal capital fund set aside for technological instruction. Textbook funds may suffice, and because the pods involve furniture, some area's construction or maintenance funds will cover the cost. If a school has more than 50 percent of its population eligible for free and reduced lunch, it can use its Title I funding for this purpose, too, according to Richardson. It's also plausible to pursue national technology literacy grants.