Pope John Paul II High School

 

Pope John Paul II High School Students to Receive Netbooks 

At the start of the 2010-11 school year, each student attending Pope John Paul II High School will receive a netbook.  The netbooks, made possible through state funding, will be used by students daily and will be incorporated into all subject areas as part of the PJPHS curriculum.

The netbooks will be the property of the school, however, students will have the responsibility of taking them to and from school each day. They will be encouraged to use them at home on a regular basis.  

The administration and technology officials from PJPHS are currently working on an Acceptable Use Policy and other regulations to effectively and safely use this innovative educational tool.

Each netbook is made by Acer and has the following specifications:

• Windows XP Home, with a wireless 802.11 b/g cards
• 1Gb of memory
• 10.1" Display screen
• 160GB Hard Drive
• Integrated Webcam
• Built in digital microphone
• 6 Cell Li-ion battery: 6 hour battery life
• Dimensions: 10.17 x 7.24 x 1 inches
• Multi-in -1 card reader
• Total weight of 2.95lbs

Sizeable Technology Grant Awarded to Pope John Paul II High School

Pope John Paul II High School (PJPHS) has been awarded an Act 183 grant with a total services value of more than $120,000 from the State of Pennsylvania and Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU). The grant will cover the school’s Gigabit Fiber Installation (650x the bandwidth of a T1), equipment and installation costs for RWAN connection, professional development, video bridging and streaming access, web cam conferencing ability, *PAIUnet, and **Internet2.

With this opportunity, PJPHS continues to ensure that the most modern resources and a truly state-of-the-art education will be offered to our 21st Century students. This news adds even more excitement to the recent announcement that all PJPHS students will receive their own personal netbook for use in the classroom and at home.

The following services will be available due to this grant:

• Internet, **Internet2
• Distance education
• Videoconferencing
• Research projects
• Virtual field-trips
• Professional development
• Hosted applications
• Campus safety
• Disaster recovery
• Video-on-Demand

* PAIUnet, a statewide fiber network, allows schools and IU's across the state to create, communicate, collaborate and share valuable resources to enhance student learning. PAIUnet provides PA Intermediate Units (IUs) and K-12 schools a network that is 50 times faster and 95% less expensive than using the commodity Internet to connect to one another. It increases connectivity between Pennsylvania IUs and school districts providing access to content and resources that will transform the way educational services and information are delivered.

** Internet2 is a not-for-profit advanced networking consortium comprising more than 200 U.S. universities in cooperation with 70 leading corporations, 45 government agencies, laboratories and other institutions of higher learning as well as over 50 international partner organizations. By bringing research and academia together with technology leaders from industry, government and the international community, Internet2 promotes collaboration and innovation that has a fundamental impact on the future of the Internet.

MAGPI (the Mid-Atlantic Gigapop in Philadelphia for Internet2) is a regional high-speed network and aggregation point providing access to robust advanced network infrastructure and Next Generation networking services for institutions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. MAGPI is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and it is part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Information Systems and Computing central IT organization. MAGPI is managed and operated by staff of ISC’s Networking & Telecommunications Department, including our 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC). MAGPI is an Internet2 Research & Education Network Member and a Connector for the research and education community.