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Jerry Yin
McMennamy
Capstone 6th period
18 November 16
TechNOlogy: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
Technology is a beautiful thing. Now more than ever, the time it takes for information to
reach one person from another is astoundingly low. Information sharing is at an all-time high as
people are constantly connected via the Internet. In terms of education, the Internet is a whole
new world that allows for a wide-range of teaching and learning. With recent advances in
technology, teachers and administrators around the nation have begun to integrate various
machines into the classroom to bolster student learning and add variety for teacher lesson plans.
In my research, I hope to study the effects of implementation on classrooms nationwide, on
student health, and on Clements High School in particular. The goal is to analyze the costs as
well as the benefits of integration, and ultimately assess its importance and significance.
I.

1:1 Implementation Plans

Pioneers in this field have advocated for many different programs such as adding Wi-Fi

to every school, buying portable Chromebook carts for every library, or giving iPads to every
student. Providing iPads to students as part of a 1:1 implementation plan is the most definable
program with the least amount of variability, so it is the easiest the study. However, some of the
big pushes for student iPads have inherent flaws in their plans. Based on failed implementation
programs around the nation, large-scale iPad integration promises are rushed and unreasonable,
and society is simply not ready for them.

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Specifically, proposals for technological improvement in the form of distributing iPads to

every student, are ultimately a fantasy, not reality. This type of large-scale integration is known
as a 1:1 implementation plan, in which as the name suggests, each student receives his/her own
iPad to keep throughout the school year (Eidman). Most of these plans make young elementary
school children responsible for expensive tablets not only under teacher supervision at school,
but at home as well. Children are prone to damaging, losing, or destroying toys and other
everyday items, thus trusting them with iPads is a dangerous decision. These tablets would then
be a liability rather than an asset. While the luxury of iPads is enticing to progressive, forwardminded thinkers who want to thrive in the new and globalized economy, the reality is that iPads
have not been made to cater to the education sector. The unfortunate truth about iPads is that they
are extremely vulnerable. A month into the school year in Guilford School District, North
Carolina, about 10 percent of the district's 15,000 devices have been returned to Amplify due to
broken screens and schools have also reported problems with approximately 2,000 Amplifysupplied cases. A student charger had also overheated, causing its plastic casing to melt
(Herold). While these programs have good intentions at their roots as well as visionaries who
care about students futures, iPad implementation has proven to be not only a distraction to
students nationwide, but also a safety hazard. We simply cannot jeopardize student health for the
prospect of trying something that may only work for a select group of people.
Furthermore, critics of 1:1 implementation programs suggest integration projects in
waves or smaller amounts; however, that idea is flawed as districts do not have enough money
for the plan to be sustainable. Amplify Education, a digital education company designed to create
lesson plans, teach curriculum, and make fun games for the virtual classroom, was awarded a
$14 million contract to develop 17,000 specialized iPads for middle school students in Guilford

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County. Sold at nearly a thousand dollars per student, these iPads as previously mentioned were
essentially nonfunctional for about 30% of students a major investment that did not pay off
(Leonard). Now a thousand dollars is significantly pricier than the typical cost of an iPad. This is
because the iPads come with various types of casing, educational software pre-installed, and
sometimes even a short-term warranty. In addition, not all school districts are this financially
stable to begin with. Schools struggle to maintain a healthy teacher-to-student ratio, keep the
lights on, and provide warm meals to kids, so spending a thousand dollars on every student is not
viable by any means. Public schools in general have more students to take care of and lack the
funds that private or charter schools have.
While there have been successful 1:1 implementation stories, many of them come from
private schools where the funding is much more on par with where it needs to be to run a
successful technology push. The increased budget for boarding schools combined with low
student enrollment allows for private schools to venture out and explore new things with their
money. For example, Cushing Academy is a preparatory boarding school in Massachusetts with
an annual enrollment of 400 students. They were not only able to provide iPads to each student,
but also install interactive whiteboards to connect to the tablets in every classroom and equip WiFi around the school (Lytle). Teachers then were able to diversify their lesson plans as well as
facilitate new methods of thinking (Clark). Thus, the truth is iPad implementation programs do
exist and have had a reasonable amount of success to continue its revolution; however, many of
these feel-good narratives come from private boarding schools which are not representative of
the American education system.
Society as a whole is simply not ready for the craze and revolution of implementing iPads
into the education system. While there have been some spotty, isolated success stories, the

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majority of school districts nationwide are not financially ready to dive into such a reformist
idea. Many of the iPads that already have been put into classrooms around the country are faulty
and act as a distraction to learning.
II.

Effects on the Human Body and Society

When considering the three main aspects of education academics, social life, and sleep

student health cannot be overlooked. However, the use of technology may be contributing to
worsening student health nationwide. Furthermore, with the growing influence of social media
on society, the contentious topic of race relations is highlighted more than ever before. There
may be reason to believe that the integration of technology into education has an indirect but
noticeable effect on the racial disharmony that surrounds our nation. Although some studies have
indicated student improvement in academic performance due to the introduction of
communication technology in the classroom, unfavorable effects on student health and on the
racial divide must be considered when examining the usefulness of technology implementation.
First and foremost, it is no secret that technology can have an adverse effect on a persons
health, most notably on a persons brain. Because of instant communication and the immense
amount of resources that can be found online, students these days are essentially addicted to their
electronic devices. This addiction leads to later bedtimes resulting in unhealthy sleep schedules.
Sleep is essential in that it is an extended period of time where one can rest his/her eyes
(Holmes). Ultimately by staying up at night and being exposed to the blue light from an
electronic device, students have more tired eyes and less sleep to rest them a lose-lose
situation, leading to an increase in requests to sit near the front to see the board. Also, the
introduction of technology into education has led to decreased critical thinking skills and ability
to do homework (Richtel). The effectiveness of homework is diminished as students search for

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quick answers online, whether they may be accurate or not. Richtel also notes that a students
ability to write and communicate face-to-face has also been trending downward, as many
children simply type up essays using software equipped with spellcheck and instant message
their peers behind the safety net of a screen. This lack of in-person communication is a direct
cause of our generations reduced perception of feelings and our ability to read emotions,
important social skills. Some students also have a lack of notetaking skills as they wait for
important documents to be uploaded online. All-in-all, technology has changed the way we learn
arguably for the worse.
Despite the harmful effect current technologies may have on the human body, there have
been many recent movements to integrate technology on a national level. For example, President
Clinton enacted the Improving Americas Schools Act in 1994, which aimed to bring technology
and education together for all students by allocating $250 million for education-technology
programs. The Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, authorized $50 million a year to promote
the development and distribution of state-of-the-art technology to improve education
(Summary). These sweeping progressive reforms sparked a national frenzy, causing teachers to
experiment with new teaching methods and innovative instructional lessons. Since then, the
spark has yet to flame out. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education is involved with the
Enhancing Education through Technology State Program, or Ed-Tech Program, which distributes
formula grants to less-fortunate districts around the nation in hopes of technology
implementation. The primary goal of this program is to improve student achievement through
the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools, and make sure all students become
technologically literate by the end of the eighth grade (Enhancing). While this may be an
ambitious objective, the general consensus is that the evolution of technology should drive the

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evolution of our education system. Although technology in the classroom is potentially harming
the way teachers teach and learners learn, the U.S. government is insistent on its implementation
nationwide.
Ultimately, integration is increasingly accepted by society, but there is evidence to
suggest that integrating technology into classroom education may be perpetuating the racial
divide. In general, Whites have a higher annual income than their minority counterparts. This
wealth gap leads to a higher social standing and an excess of money to spend on luxuries such as
cell phones and tablets. The electronic sector thus makes their devices and innovations to cater to
and appease the White market. Entrepreneurs fundamentally follow the path of greatest profit,
and coincidently so do mainstream entertainment media moguls. Much of what is on the Internet
is catered toward the White population, so minorities as a result have a decreased desire for
technology (Monroe). These factors dissuade minorities from purchasing these technological
innovations. Thus, White students are more likely to own electronic devices and are able to
develop a sense of familiarity with the devices they use at school. The converse of this statement
is also true: minority students are not able to develop this sense of familiarity and must learn not
only the information at hand, but also the tricks and gimmicks to every electronic device
(Monroe). The integration of technology into the classroom essentially is unintentionally swayed
to benefit the White population. Although unintended, school could ultimately be easier for
White students, reinforcing the racial divide in America.
It is clear that the implementation of technology into education has resulted in a myriad
of consequences. As an aid, electronic devices can be used effectively by teachers to develop
creative lesson plans to help students learn in different ways. However, we as a society cannot
overlook the effects of technology on student health as well as the racial divide.

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III.

An Analysis of Clements High School

Specifically, the Fort Bend Independent School District has been one of the more

progressive school districts in terms of implementation, and has experienced its fair share of
successes and failures.
First and foremost, the iAchieve Plan which aimed to provide iPads to schools with
underprivileged students in low-income areas was a fantasy that failed to get off the ground. The
Superintendent at the time, Dr. Timothy S. Jenney, wanted to improve science education for 2nd
to 8th graders around the district by purchasing iPads for each science classroom. This plan was
aimed at increasing lesson diversity and boosting test scores for low-income children in poorer
neighborhoods. The iAchieve set aside $18.2 million to purchase 6,300 iPads equipped with
rubber padding, charging stations, and educational material software (Dolan). Launched in the
spring of 2012, the plan was scrapped only 18 months later in the fall of 2013. Many causes
including unrealistic goals, insufficient planning and project management, and a lack of
consistency with FBISD curriculum development standards led to the downfall of this shortlived plan (Michels). With such a complex project, the district set an overly aggressive timeline
for the pilot testing and implementation of iAchieve. The pilot testing in various 4th, 5th, and 8th
grade classrooms only lasted about one month which is too short to gauge the actual importance
of the newly acquired iPads. The district jumped the gun, and what was supposed to be
revolutionary now does not exist. Furthermore, the district used poor judgement when they
selected their outside contractor to run the project. Fort Bend ultimately chose Curriculum
Ventures which only had two employees, one of which had only started one successful business
out of seven attempted (Kuffner). The other was the companys director, Bonnie Loque, who
gave Dr. Jenney the idea of Character Links back in 2007. This idea brought Dr. Jenney into the

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national spotlight as he was credited with discovering the program, and all the schools in his
district were designated as National Schools of Character (Kuffner). Although Loque did not
demonstrate any qualifications or competency in the field of technology, he won the bid out of
four bidders. The Louisiana-based company registered with the state of Texas on the same day it
placed a bid on the iAchieve contract. After the plan failed, the entire Digital Learning
Department in Fort Bend was told to delete their files that had any relationship to the iAchieve
and for the most part, it is a taboo subject to talk about. This pioneering reform in the field of
tech-ed met its untimely demise.
However, one positive that resulted from this project is that all the iPad carts that were
bought already were eventually redistributed to other schools around the district, and this
redistribution of iPad carts led to a need for schoolwide Wi-Fi. It also caused a shortage of
portable electronic devices, so schools such as Clements High School purchased Chromebook
carts, a more inexpensive option. Each school received only about two or three iPad carts which
is not enough to satisfy the many teachers on each campus. The redistribution came as a result of
complaints that only science teachers in primary education in low-income neighborhoods were
the only ones allowed to use iPads in the classroom (McCullum). Although the iAchieve Plan
officially ceased in the fall of 2013, the district decided to reach into its pocket again and fund
for the 2014 bond program, which called for Wi-Fi to be added to every school. It also was more
specific in its goals this time and set aside money to focus on the development of career and
technical education. Overall, $75 million was spent on Wi-Fi, data center modification and
virtualization, WAN/LAN development, and adding communication warehouses to each campus
(Technology). After one plan that failed because it jumped the gun, the district right away
began another with ambitious goals. The introduction of Wi-Fi into each classroom set off a

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domino effect beginning with the increased usage of social media during the school day. Schools
combatted this problem by restricting certain websites that can be reached through the Wi-Fi.
However, students found a way around this using various vpns and proxy servers, thus rendering
website blocking useless. Currently, some high schools around the district such as Clements have
done away with the limitations, allowing students to surf the web freely. While useful at times,
Wi-Fi as a result of the 2014 bond program costed a lot of money and led to certain negative
consequences as well.
Finally, students were not the only ones who benefitted from integration programs, as
teachers benefitted as well. Teachers received new laptops in the summer of 2015 to replace their
old, traditional desktop computers. FBISD Digital Learning Specialist Sherri McCullum notes
that laptops are often more readily available than desktops due to its portability and are more
efficient than their iPad counterparts as the mechanical keyboard allows for quicker typing and
more keyboard shortcut options. In turn, these factors lead to an increase in the overall
productivity of teachers and ultimately an enhanced learning experience for students. Many
teachers also received new projectors in their classroom, a small upgrade from old, outdated
ones. However, some projector screens were installed incorrectly, and a handful of teachers
began the school year with crooked screens. Thus, certain upgrades meant to be an aid turned out
to be a distraction for a period of time. Furthermore, the district also enacted a Microsoft 365
rollout for both students and teachers. Students received an email account and access to many
important software such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Powerpoint. Teachers also had access
to One Drive, which allowed for 1 TB of information to be stored for easy access and sharing
(McCullum). But the effectiveness of these reforms are questionable as students already have
their own email accounts, and teachers use Google Drive, their class website, or a hard drive to

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save all their data. In fact, recently in about 2013, the district made Google accounts for teachers
to encourage the use of Chrome materials (McMennamy). Thus, the Microsoft 365 rollout might
not have been as efficacious as hoped. While these smaller yet noticeable upgrades are generally
regarded as a more proactive and reasonable use of the districts money, the district again may be
spending money where money cannot produce a promising change. Many students are simply
not aware of this rollout, while other students simply refuse to use it.
Ultimately, Fort Bend ISD needs to take more time to evaluate the consequences of
implementation programs before enacting them. Unpreparedness as a result of hasty decisionmaking tends to lead to failure. Although every technology-related action proposed by the district
has enormous potential, certain plans look better on paper than in reality. The district may want
to consider the costs and benefits of every program before pouring money into it.
IV.

Conclusion

The introduction of technology into the classroom as an aid is helpful to both students and
teachers nationwide, but many cons tip the balance. It significantly worsens student health as
well as their ability to perform daily functions such as writing and communicating. Many school
districts cannot afford to provide the technology to many of their students, and it is simply not
fair for some students to have it while others do not. In school districts that have attempted to
implement technology, the result is often not what it was planned to be on paper. Thus,
technology as a fundamental part of education is a big, sleeping bear that should not be provoked
yet.

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Works Cited
Clark, Wilma, and Rosemary Luckin. "IPads in the Classroom." London Knowledge Lab 2
(2013): 1-33. 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
Dolan, Betsy. "Clements H.S. Students Speak out against Fort Bend ISD's IPad Plan." Fort
Bend Southwest Star Newspaper. Fort Bend Star, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Eidman, Roberta. "Let's Have A One-to-One Chat - K-12 News Network." K12 News
Network. N.p., 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
"Enhancing Education through Technology (Ed-Tech) State Program." U.S. Department of
Education. U.S Department of Education, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Herold, Benjamin. "Big 1-to-1 Tablet Initiatives Halted in North Carolina, Texas."
Education Week. N.p., 07 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.
Holmes, Lindsay. "Sneaky Ways Technology Is Messing With Your Body And Mind." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Kuffner, Charles. "More on the Fort Bend ISD IPad Failure." Off the Kuff. N.p., 17 Nov. 2013.
Web. 31 Oct. 2016.
Leonard, David. "The IPad Goes to School." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
15 Sept. 2016.
Lytle, Ryan. "Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom." US News. N.p.,
14 July 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
McCullum, Sherri. "October Mentor Meeting." Personal interview. 27 Oct. 2016.
McMennamy, Glenys. Timed Writing Conference. Personal interview. 17 Nov. 2016.
Michels, Patrick. "The High Cost of IPad-mania in Public Schools." Texas Observer. N.p., 5
Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

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Monroe, Barbara Jean. "Reconsidering the Terms of the Debate." Crossing the Digital Divide:
Race, Writing, and Technology in the Classroom. New York: Teachers College, 2004.
5-30. 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 9 Oct. 2016.
Richtel, Matt. "Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
"Summary of the Improving America's Schools Act." Education Week. N.p., 01 May 2016. Web.
15 Oct. 2016.
"Technology Master Plan Proposal." FBISD Technology Infrastructure Master Plan
Proposal (2008): 201-07. Fort Bend Independent School District, 02 June 2014. Web. 26
Oct. 2016.

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1.
2.
3.
4.

Clements or FBISD more mention

Shoulder/Back area efffects
Look at edits on page 8
Trainings = open up the network. Forgot to turn it off at main building. Edit page 9 stuff

lol.
5. Stipulations as a result of bought carts; parallel pilot campus only five teachers were
trained at first with their students.
-McMennamy trained, 4 others
-complaint: NOT ENOUGH technology
Let the teachers use it. Cant monitor LTE data.
Edit Mentor tab of website.
Microsoft Sway + Pulse!