SOCRATES

I got the New Page link to show up. It must of needed some time or closing my browser after Judy approved me.

Presenter: Marc Patton Full Name: SOCRATES = South Central Regional Area Telecommunications System SOCRATES is the technology services division of the SCSC co-op (South Central Service Co-op). [|www.projectsocrates.org]

Purpose/ Cost/ Benefits: Provider of data, video, and VOIP telephony to schools and libraries. They also provide services, training, and group purchasing opportunities. The quality and strength of this co-op may not be possible for most districts in south central Minnesota. “ It allows new ways of instruction and educational experience for students and teachers, enables interactive and distance education opportunities, gives access to world-wide information resources and services, and permits creative alternatives to classroom instruction techniques now utilized in K-12 education and to reference and research services now offered by public libraries.” Please click on this link to view all services offered to members. http://www.projectsocrates.org/organization/socrates_services.html. Account charges for a district similar to JWP Public Schools who serves 550 students may encrue monthly charges of: Connectivity= $2,030; Maintenance $188; Infrastructure = $375; Participation = 500. All fees are discounted by 60% because of the federal E-Rate program. The remaining balance can be paid for or reduced by federal Equity Aid. SOCRATES handles all E-Rate paperwork for member districts. Training workshops at SCSC main building in Mankato are charged per session. Discounted software is offered per agreement per vendor. SOCRATES Online distance education is based on per student enrollment in the program. ITV classes or sessions are charged per host site agreement.

Members Served: 29 public school districts; 8 cooperative education and library service agencies; 34 public library sites; and 4 higher education institutions. Click here to see a map of participating school districts. The following are examples of Video Conferences offered through ITV: [|The Jazz Age] [|Royal Tyrrell Museum Virtual Visit][|Art and The Hall of Fame Experience] [|Fractured Fairy Tales] [|Wolf Ecology] [|Magic and Science] [|Cowboy Close-Up] [|Living in the Ring of Fire] [|PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT for Educators: Hyperlinked Writing] An current programming schedule is found on their web site along with video field trips. A recent upgrade to the network has provided HDTV quality picture as long as both sides have HD equipment. Another valuable tool to promote effective distance education is their Moodle service. Moodle does not demand too much on the network and servers, so that makes it easier to manage on their end. //Moodle is a course/content management system intended to provide educators with an online presence to enhance instruction and better communicate with their learning community.// Previously SOCRATES offered a few online classes in core subject areas. At the beginning of 2010 they announced a stronger initiative to online learning. The new program is called SOCRATES Online and they hired Karen Johnson to be the director. Karen has several years of successfully implementing online learning in metro area public schools. The district membership with SOCRATES does not fully fund the course offerings, so a student fee of $350 is assessed. Conferences and Publications: Currently there are only a few technology training opportunities due to summer vacation. Typically the workshops are for SMART, Moodle, Microsoft Office, and other Web 2.0 applications. This is also the host site for the bimonthly technology coordinator meetings. This is usually conducted in a round table format with presenters and discussions on what each district is doing with technology. SOCRATES does not have regular publications, but I do rely on their web site as a database of educational resources. As a member of the co-op you will receive occasional e-mails on how you can get involved with promoting technology in our public school system to our local and federal government. Opinion of Organization: My first impression of belonging to a co-op was that it was slow and one-sided technology service. The medium and large school districts were not having their Internet bandwidth needs met. Most employees that support SOCRATES work part time and are not readily available when needed. Eventually I figured out that a district can get as much out of the co-op as they put into it. The staff members and services are not going to wait to hear your demands. You need to get involved so they know what you want and need for your students. I am amazed to witness growth in their services within one year’s worth of planning. For example: faster and cheaper Internet connectivity for school districts, HD video quality for video conferencing, group purchasing for software and hardware, a well respected online education program, and several hosted solutions has saved JWP time and money. My opinion of SOCRATES is to join and get involved!