(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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The future of computers in our homes and schools

David Strom (revised 4/13)

david@strom.com

Port parent, author,

Internet consultant

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Who am I?

• Port parent, Daly 4th grader

• Co-chair Citizens Technology Cmte (‘94)

• Consultant to many computer companies

• Write frequently on Internet and networking topics (former magazine editor-in-chief)

• Test lots of cool new stuff

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Agenda

• Some predictions for the future

• State of our -- and other -- schools

• Everyone has a web site these days

• Going beyond AOL for home access

• What does this all mean for the average parent

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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My vision for 2002

• Laptops for kids

• Internet access everywhere: homes, classrooms, coffee bars, stores, hotels

• Everyone is their own publisher

• Multiple email addresses for everyone

• Portable wireless contact devices: super-pagers

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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One no-brainer: PCs get [still] cheaper!

• Dell, HP for $999

• eMachines for $399!

• How low can they go?

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Key applications to watch

• Music and home audio/theater

• Wireless gizmos

• Email and the web intersections

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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The next frontier: Music

• Goal: one set of speakers to play everything

• CDs

• MP3s

• DVD, Nintendo TV

• PC games

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Where is wireless going?

• Metricom looking to expand to LI (Internet access)

• Now have six different cell systems to choose from

• Two-way pagers are just becoming popular

• Wireless Palm Pilots

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Wireless obstacles

• Can’t build [enough] towers

• Still slower than wired connections

• Too many things to manage and integrate

• Too expensive

• Batteries never last long enough

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Look ma, no laptop!

• Haven’t owned one in years

• Use cybercafes, libraries for Internet access

• Everything I need is on the Internet now

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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What about email and the web?

• Set up various services using web forms

• Then send notifications via email

• Useful for network-based storage, calendars, document distribution

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Examples of email/web applications

• eGroups.com mailing and discussion groups

• my.yahoo.com calendar and stock quotes

• Amazon.com new book notification

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Future computers

• Lighter, faster, cheaper

• Oodles of memory and disk

• Remember the typical PC 5 years ago (486/50 w/ 4/300 MB) ?

• Home networks won’t be easy -- STILL!

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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State of Port schools technology

• 3 PCs/classroom K thru 5

• Labs, Internet access in all school buildings

• Weber to be wired + 1 PC/core classroom this summer

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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The future of our schools’ technology

• Five years for universal gr. 3-12 laptops

• Two years for well-integrated curriculum

• Two years for >90% teaching training

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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School technology report card

• Training the teachers: B

• Improving the infrastructure: B-

• Computer curriculum: B-

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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How do we stack up?

• Neighboring communities

• Neighboring colleges

• Rest of the world

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Examples

• CAD lab at HS with NY Tech’s lab

• Manhasset

• Hilton Head High

• Intel’s Lesson Plans on the web

• Georgia “Write an Engineer” site

• Oregon State’s Virtual Student Desktop

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Port Schools web site

• Portnet: www.portnet.k12.ny.us

• School closing notification

• School newspapers, student web pages

• Class field trip pix

• Board of Ed. meeting agendas

• Contact info, calendars, etc.

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Port Washington web sampler

• Library (pwpl.org)• Fire department (pwfd.com)• Town of North Hempstead (northhempstead.com)• Village of Sands Point (sandspoint.org) etc.• Business Improvement Dist. (portwashington.org)• Soccer Club (pwsoccer.com)• Many, many others (including strom.com!)

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Typical home Internet situation today

• AOL with 33 Kbps dial-up modem

• a few multi-PC homes, non-networked

• Biggest uses: Chat, email, word processing

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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What’s changing?

• Continuous Internet access

• Networks in the homes

• Applications moving towards the web

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Beyond AOL for home Internet access

• DSL (ISP + Bell Atlantic)

• CableVision

• ISDN

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Advantages for high-speed access

• Always-on connections

• Free up phones for voice calls

• Avoid connection busy signals

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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The Internet is always on in my house

• Wife and child now use it daily (28 MM active users in a third US homes?)

• Search movie times in local theaters

• Calendar on Yahoo

• AOL buddy lists always available

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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The notion of information on-demand

• Search online encyclopedias (Comptons)

• Download software when we need it (Shareware.com)

• Download music when we want to listen to it (Mp3.com)

• Download books when we want to read them (ToExcel, Xlibris)

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Implications

• Newspapers and TV become less important

• Networks become more compelling

• Finding stuff via the web is still too hard

• Buying stuff via the web is sometimes too much of an impulse

• New applications for web use (taxes, shopping)

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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So what’s the average parent to do?

• Make sure you don’t over or under buy technology

• Consider continuous access soon

• Understand and monitor your child’s computer use

• Take a course, pick an application (email) to get started

• Surf with care: misinformation (Tunisia), hate sites, and porn

(c) David Strom Inc. 1999

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Questions?

Copies of this presentation, along with links to the sites mentioned, are available at: www.portnet.k12.ny.us/techconference