Mass Networks Education Partnership, Inc.

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What is Mass Networks Education Partnership, Inc.?

Mass Networks Education Partnership is an independent, nonprofit organization of people from education, business, government, and labor working together to promote the use of information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for education reform. We believe that ICT can both revitalize the learning process and raise the level of student outcome.

We are nonpartisan. Senator Kennedy provided start-up leadership for our May, 1996 incorporation. The Weld and Cellucci Administrations have supported our initiatives. The Senator and Governor serve as our Honorary Co-chairs. Key legislators from both parties have been active participants.

We are inclusive. Our board includes top business and union leaders as well as educators. MassNetworks works with all non-profit K-12 Massachusetts educational institutions -- public or private, general or technical, district or regional. We complement rather than compete with existing local technology planning and professional development efforts.

MISSION

Help teachers and students acquire the skills needed for success in the 21st century.

1) Help create a network infrastructure within school buildings, across districts, and spanning the entire state so that teachers and learners have Internet access. To accomplish this we sponsor state-wide Mass NetDay campaigns and support local NetDay efforts. We broker public-private partnerships. We help schools learn how to cost-effectively administer their systems. We work with public and private sector organizations to create both dial-up and dedicated line educational systems. And we help municipalities get the maximum benefit from the new federal E-Rate discount program.

2) Help schools, educators, students, and their families get access to the equipment and technical training needed to utilize network access. To accomplish this, we work with firms wishing to reach out to the education market. We help schools learn how to support their users. We work with ProjectNeat to provide free Internet access devices and TV monitors to low-income schools. We work with other groups exploring ways to appropriately recycle computers from businesses to nonprofits. And we explore ways to help families find affordable equipment.

3) Help educators get professional development about meaningfully integrating ICT into their every day activities. To accomplish this, we organize or participate in workshops, institutes, conferences, and other in-person activities. We also maintain a web site and email lists, do TV shows, and use other electronic communication methods.

4) Help build community support for and involvement in the positive efforts of our education system. To accomplish this, we do extensive educational work with businesses, government officials, and the media. We help schools learn how to productively recruit, use, and retain the interest of volunteers. We help schools learn how to reach out to their local business and political leaders as well as to their local media.

VISION

Accomplishing the MassNetworks mission is a long term process. It will take years to fully wire and equip the schools, train teachers, provide technical support, get families involved and integrate ICT into the curriculum so as to tap its full creative potential. But, we believe it is worth the effort:

First, we see electronic connections as an important tool in the larger movement for education reform, providing a powerful catalyst for restructuring the way students learn and teachers teach. And we know that education technology is only useful when combined with on-going professional development, technical support, and stable funding.

Second, we believe that widespread use of information technology is necessary for economic development. The good jobs of the future -- if not the present -- require computer skills. Growing companies, in almost every industry, need a technically literate workforce. We also believe that exposure to computers makes us better consumers, and helps Massachusetts provide the kind of marketplace that continues to attract growing firms. Helping our children, therefore, helps ourselves whether or not the children are actually "ours."

Third, we want to network our schools because we see it as a vital step towards universal access to the new technologies that increasingly permeate our society. To strengthen democracy and promote responsible citizenship, we need to strengthen everyone’s ability to participate in the electronic communications and information-gathering systems that will act as the infrastructure for the Information Age. Working through our schools is one way to help ensure that no one is left out of the future.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
In first 18 months -- sponsored three Mass Net Days; over 900 schools (about 50% of total) in nearly 2/3rds of the state's districts participated; about 19,000 community volunteers helped; several hundred businesses donated nearly $35 million in products and services; unions endorsed and supported the initiative (IBEW has committed to wiring ALL Boston schools); generated widespread media coverage which significantly raised public awareness; formed a unique partnership of diverse constituencies from corporate board to local committees. Nationally recognized as one of the most successful and visionary of the NetDay efforts.

Worked with state Dept. of Education to create MassEd.Net which makes low-cost dial-up Internet service available to the state's 80,000 educators, and to plan the Mass. Community Network (MCN) that will place a high-speed network connection into every community.

Started multi-year Technology and Curriculum Integration Leadership Program (TCI-LP) with multiple public and private sector partners bringing 29 district teams together from across Mass. A second round of participants will be selected for the 1999-2000 school year.

OTHER CURRENT PROJECTS:
MNEP works on implementation and policy issues at three levels of activity

1) Creating Education Networks:
NetDay, MassEd.Net, MCN...

2) Operating Education Networks:
E-Rate - Helping schools and libraries deal with this confusing program.

Students as Technology Leaders (SaTL) - Helping schools give students the technical skills need to provide internal tech. support and be prepared for future employment (with Youth Tech. Entrepreneurs).

Legal Issues - Protection and liability in the on-line world.

3) Using Education Networks:
TCI-LP...
Curriculum Library Alignment and Sharing Project (CLASP) - bringing districts together to facilitate efforts to align classroom activities with the Framework standards (with North Andover District and DOE's New Media group).

Student Competencies - Building consensus about reasonable grade-by-grade student technical competency expectations (with DOE).

Framework Addendum - Develop general guides to integration of technology into instructional strategies aligned with state Frameworks (with DOE Curriculum Revision Team)

Project MEET - Five-year program led by DOE to raise the level of educator technology fluency.

Policy and Best Practice Roundtables - Bringing together practitioners and experts around a variety of issues that emerge from our other activities or that are suggested by the people we work with.

Sponsored by Mass Networks Education Partnership, Inc.
For more information, write to us at: netday@mtpc.org
Mass. NetDay Web Site design and HTML credits
Last updated: 12/5/97

Note: The URL for this page is: http://www.massnetworks.org/whatis.html