Catholic schools wired for future

Thirty-seven Catholic schools in the Albany Diocese participated last weekend in a statewide effort to bring schools into the information age. They were among 3,000 educational institutions across the state to take part in the event.

The initiative -- New York Wired for Education -- provided schools and libraries with the needed materials to access the Internet and establish computer networks.

According to Tom Buccino, instructor of educational technology for the diocesan Catholic School Office, "New York Wired for Education was an effort to assist all New York private and public schools and libraries to become wired for Internet access within their buildings. It is the first step in providing access to all classrooms and libraries."

Kits and volunteers

Each participating institution was provided with a hardware kit that included wire, jacks and tools, and instructional video to wire up to six rooms within their facility. The kits, worth between $700 to $800, were made available for $500. Rather than having the schools pick up the tab for the kits, New York Wired for Education assisted schools in finding corporate sponsors.

The schools were also required to find volunteers to install the kits. Doing so at Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush, for example, was a team of professors and students from Hudson Valley Community College in nearby North Greenbush. St. Clement's Regional School in Saratoga Springs had a team of volunteers from the Navy installing the wire, Mr. Buccino said.

The program was unique in that wiring throughout the state took place on one day: Saturday, Sept. 21.

Fear and excitement

Mr. Buccino said that Catholic schools reacted in a variety of ways to the effort.

"There is excitement and fear," he said. "Where schools have technology expertise, they feel comfortable and confident. Often, this expertise comes from parents. Other schools that don't have that expertise are nervous. Some are anxious; others find it a piece of cake."

Either way, the effort was just the first step in bringing Catholic schools onto the information superhighway, Mr. Buccino added. While there are schools in the Diocese that will be able to access the Internet immediately following this "high technology barn-raising," he explained that the wiring itself is a first step for many schools. "It's a phased-in approach," he said.

What wire does

In essence, the project was like wiring a home for phone lines in each room; until there is a phone connected to the wire, the wire is useless. In this case, the schools were provided with the wiring; but in order to use it, they will need additional phone lines, an account to access the Internet, and in some cases computers, Mr. Buccino said.

Besides allowing schools to access the Internet, the wiring will permit schools to eventually install Local Area Networks, known as LANs. These allow computer workstations to access information from one main computer while still being able to work on their own.

"New York Wired for Education is the first step in providing access to all classrooms and libraries," according to a press release from Gov. George Pataki's office. "Only about 20 percent of public libraries and perhaps 40 percent of public schools (only about 10 percent of classrooms) are now wired to the Internet. Less that 10 percent of New York State's 2,100 religious and other private schools are currently wired to the Internet."

In announcing the decision to include nonpublic schools in the project, Gov. Pataki said, "Nonpublic schools are an integral part of our state's education system, and we are proud that we can broaden New York Wired for Education to the more than 473,000 children who attend religious and other private schools in our state."

(09-26-96) [[In-content Ad]]