When the Norristown Area (Penn.) School District put wireless in its high school, three middle schools and one elementary school in 2003, it saw potential for the technology beyond giving students ubiquitous access, says Mark Long, IT director. This year, the district began running a program with its school board, aiming for a paperless board meeting. All school board members were given wireless laptops to use during the school term, and Long went to each member’s house to set up wireless access.
The effect has been astounding, Long says. “In only a couple of months, we began to see an amazing difference in how the board operated.” Instead of shuffling through papers during meetings, board members access agenda items on their laptops, and can search archived notes through the school’s intranet system. Now getting minutes and other information is only a few clicks away, saving the district money and allowing the board to do more extensive work with better information. (http://www.schwoebel.biz/wordpress/…in-the-schools/)