School Sleuth: The Case of the Wired Classroom

[ SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS ] School Sleuth: YOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT, TRUST ME, THE BAD GUYS DO.

I'VE SPENT 40 YEARS INVESTIGATING SCHOOLS, SEARCHING FOR THE BEST... EXPOSING THE WORST.

THEY CALL ME THE SCHOOL SLEUTH.

I'VE CRACKED A LOT OF CASES, THOUGHT I'D SEEN IT ALL, UNTIL THIS ONE FELL IN MY LAP.

I'M CALLING IT "THE CASE OF THE WIRED CLASSROOM."

[ PIANO PLAYS ] Singer: I'VE BEEN SEARCHING AS THE NIGHTS GROW LONGER FOR THE ONE WHO WILL PERSEVERE STEP IN, STEP UP BUT DON'T YOU KNOW IT?

I'VE BEEN SEARCHING Bartender: WELL, WELL, WELL.

WILL YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN?

IT'S BEEN MONTHS, SLEUTH.

WHERE YOU BEEN?

School Sleuth: KEEPING BUSY, BUT I GOT A GREAT STORY TO TELL YOU.

Bartender: OH, YEAH?

IT MUST BE MY LUCKY NIGHT.

LAY IT ON ME.

School Sleuth: IT ALL STARTED RIGHT HERE, MAYBE SIX, SEVEN MONTHS AGO.

I WAS SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM, JUST MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS.

Woman #1: HEY, SLEUTH!

WE NEED SOME ANSWERS!

School Sleuth: A WHOLE BUNCH OF PARENTS CAME POURING IN.

WHOA, WHOA.

ONE AT A TIME, ONE AT A TIME.

Woman #2: OUR DISTRICT IS ABOUT TO DUMP A TON OF TECHNOLOGY INTO SCHOOLS, AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY.

ARE THEY TRYING TO REPLACE THE TEACHERS?

Man: LOOK, KIDS ALREADY SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN FRONT OF SCREENS.

WHY DO WE NEED COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM?

YOU THINK THEY'RE GONNA LEARN MORE FROM A MACHINE?!

Woman #1: TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.

EVERYBODY'S GOING TO A BIG SHOW IN ATLANTA TO SPEND OUR MONEY ON WHAT?!

Woman #2: OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE IS AT STAKE.

WE NEED YOU, SLEUTH.

Woman #1: PLEASE, GO TO ATLANTA AND FIND OUT THE TRUTH.

ARE COMPUTERS GONNA RUIN OUR SCHOOLS?

School Sleuth: AN OLD-FASHIONED GUY LIKE ME TO INVESTIGATE COMPUTERS?

HEY, THEY WERE PAYING THE TAB.

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT.

16,000 PEOPLE FLOCKED TO ATLANTA.

HUNDREDS OF BOOTHS, LOTS OF HIGH-TECH GADGETS.

AND IT WAS ALL FOR SALE.

Man: THEY'LL UNDERSTAND THE PHYSICS BEHIND WHAT GOES ON HERE.

Billings: WE KNOW THAT THE MARKET FOR JUST EDUCATION SOFTWARE IS -- LAST YEAR, IT WAS ABOUT $8 BILLION.

School Sleuth: DID YOU GET THAT?

$8 BILLION?

IT LOOKED TO ME LIKE EVERYBODY WANTED A PIECE OF THAT PIE.

Woman #1: IT'S AN AMAZING K-8 LEARNING PLATFORM.

Woman #2: A PROJECT-BASED LEARNING APP.

Man: IT'S AN INCREDIBLY ELEGANT SOLUTION.

Man: IT'S HIGHLY PERSONALIZED.

School Sleuth: I MET EDUCATORS HUNGRY FOR THE LATEST AND GREATEST.

Woman #1: MORE TECHNOLOGY.

Man #1: TOUCH-SCREEN MONITORS.

Woman #2: LEGO EDUCATION.

-Woman #1: iPADS.

-Man #2: ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS.

Woman #2: GOOGLE FOR EDUCATION.

Woman #3: SKYPE SESSIONS OR GOOGLE HANGOUT.

Man #2: IT'S OVERWHELMING.

School Sleuth: AND I TELL YOU, THE PRESSURE WAS ON TO BUY.

Chandler: WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SHIFT TO A DIGITAL WORLD, A DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM, AND SO, WE IN L.A. DON'T WANT TO BE BEHIND.

School Sleuth: BUT MOVING TOO FAST MIGHT NOT BE A GOOD IDEA.

YOU SAW THOSE NEWS REPORTS?

Tay: IN THE L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOLS, iPAD CONTROVERSY... Reporter: HUNDREDS OF HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO HACK THEIR SCHOOL-ISSUED iPADS.

School Sleuth: LET ME TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED.

JOHN DEASY, THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT, PLANNED TO SPEND $1 BILLION ON TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING iPADS FOR EVERY STUDENT WITHOUT ENOUGH TRAINING FOR TEACHERS.

WHEN HIS DEAL WITH APPLE BECAME PUBLIC, DEASY WAS FORCED TO RESIGN, LEAVING THE DISTRICT TO PICK UP THE PIECES.

WHAT'S THE LESSON OF LOS ANGELES?

Patrick: WELL, THE LAST THING THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT SHOULD BE DOING IS GOING OUT AND TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER THEY SHOULD HAVE CHROMEBOOKS OR LAPTOPS OR iPADS OR TABLETS.

THAT'S THE WRONG QUESTION TO START WITH.

School Sleuth: THAT'S SUSAN PATRICK.

SHE WORKS FOR A NONPROFIT OUTFIT THAT GIVES SCHOOL DISTRICTS THE LOWDOWN ON TECHNOLOGY.

Patrick: TECHNOLOGY IS JUST A TOOL, RIGHT?

SO IT HAS TO COME ALONG WITH RETHINKING WHAT YOU WANT TO DELIVER FOR KIDS.

School Sleuth: I WAS MAKING PROGRESS.

NOW I KNEW THAT SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE TRIGGER-HAPPY, SPENDING MONEY ON TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT A CLUE.

BUT I NEEDED TO KNOW MORE.

WHAT ARE SCHOOLS DOING WITH THESE HIGH-TECH TOOLS?

SO I CALLED MY SOURCES, TOLD THEM I WAS LOOKING TO VISIT THE HIGHEST HIGH-TECH SCHOOL OF ALL, AND THEY SENT ME HERE.

Alicia: THERE YOU GO.

VERY GOOD.

IS EVERYBODY IN YOUR CLASS TODAY?

– Austen: YES.

– Alicia: YEAH?

School Sleuth: I MET THIS KID.

HE'S IN SECOND GRADE.

TAKES ALL HIS CLASSES AT HOME ON A COMPUTER.

AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE IT, BUT WE GOT 315,000 MORE STUDENTS JUST LIKE HIM.

315,000.

WE GOT 14 STATES THAT DON'T HAVE THAT MANY STUDENTS.

Man: WE'RE WORKING WITH SOME HIGHER NUMBERS HERE.

School Sleuth: LOOKED TO ME LIKE COMPUTERS WERE TURNING PEOPLE'S HOMES INTO CLASSROOMS.

SOME KIDS NEVER EVEN LEAVE THEIR BEDROOMS.

TEACHERS WORK FROM AN OFFICE OR THEIR HOME.

Man: AUSTEN, HELP ME OUT.

Austen: IT WOULD BE 12 AND 15.

Man: VERY GOOD.

THAT'S PERFECT.

Austen: THEY CAN BE ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY.

I'VE HAD TEACHERS IN FLORIDA.

I'VE HAD TEACHERS IN PITTSBURGH.

School Sleuth: THEY CALL THIS CYBER SCHOOL, OR VIRTUAL SCHOOL.

FOUND OUT FAMILIES CHOOSE THESE SCHOOLS FOR A LOT OF REASONS.

MAYBE THEIR KIDS HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS.

MAYBE THEY'VE BEEN BULLIED.

SOME JUST WANT TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Woman: VERY GOOD.

Trombetta: CYBER SCHOOL'S SORT OF A LEVELING.

IT IS LIKE THE GREAT EQUALIZER IN EDUCATION.

School Sleuth: THIS GUY -- NICK TROMBETTA -- STARTED P.A.

CYBER IN 2000.

NOW IT HAS ABOUT 10,000 STUDENTS, MAKING IT ONE OF THE BIGGEST CYBER SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. Trombetta: FOR KIDS WHO ARE TRAPPED IN SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE MANY CHOICES OR BAD CHOICES, CYBER SCHOOLS ARE NECESSARY.

Man: I'M GONNA BE POPPING THROUGH THE GROUPS, CHECKING TO SEE HOW EVERYTHING'S GOING AND JUST WORK THROUGH... School Sleuth: LIKE MOST OF THESE VIRTUAL SCHOOLS, P.A.

CYBER IS A CHARTER SCHOOL.

YOU KNOW -- IT'S A PUBLIC SCHOOL, GETS TAXPAYER DOUGH, BUT PRIVATELY RUN.

TROMBETTA TOLD ME ALL ABOUT IT.

Trombetta: NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU'RE GONNA GET THE SAME QUALITY OF SERVICE.

– Woman: THAT'S RIGHT.

– School Sleuth: YEAH.

AS LONG AS EVERYTHING WORKS.

Man: GREAT -- GREAT, GUYS.

WE'LL -- Man #2: IT'S THE TEACHERS.

Alicia: I THINK ONE OF THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS WOULD BE THE TECHNOLOGY.

YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T GET CONNECTED.

SOMETHING GOES DOWN.

[ Busy signal ] [ LAUGHS ] SORRY ABOUT THAT.

School Sleuth: NEXT STOP, OREGON, TO MEET A VIRTUAL TEACHER NAMED DARCY BEDORTHA.

SHE WORKS FROM HOME FOR THE BIGGEST CYBER-SCHOOL COMPANY OF ALL -- K12.

THEY'VE GOT 70 SCHOOLS AND 120,000 STUDENTS NATIONWIDE.

NOW, K12 IS SET UP TO MAKE MONEY.

IT'S TRADED ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE.

TURNS OUT 70% OF CYBER STUDENTS GO TO THESE FOR-PROFIT CHARTER SCHOOLS.

Bedortha: GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.

School Sleuth: BEDORTHA TOLD ME THAT EVEN WHEN THE TECHNOLOGY'S WORKING, IT'S STILL A BIG CHALLENGE TRYING TO TEACH 425 STUDENTS ONLINE.

Bedortha: ALL I SEE IS THEIR NAME IN THE CHAT BOX, AND SO, IF THEY'RE NOT ACTIVELY CHATTING, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE DOING, 'CAUSE I CAN'T SEE THEM.

NOBODY'S TYPING, SO I'M GUESSING THAT... Wall: YOU HAVE TO BE DISCIPLINED TO DO IT -- EXTREMELY DISCIPLINED.

LIKE, IF YOU'RE NOT DISCIPLINED AND YOU HAVE NO DESIRE TO LEARN, THEN THERE'S NO POINT IN DOING CYBER SCHOOL.

School Sleuth: SAD TO SAY, IT WASN'T A GOOD FIT FOR THAT 11th GRADER.

AFTER JUST TWO MONTHS IN CYBER SCHOOL, HE WAS BACK AT HIS REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL.

I FOUND OUT THAT'S CALLED CHURNING.

AND GUESS WHAT.

SOME CYBER SCHOOLS HAVE A 50% CHURN RATE.

THE KIDS GO BACK TO THE REGULAR PUBLIC SCHOOL.

BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE CYBER SCHOOLS SOMETIMES GET TO KEEP THE TAXPAYERS' DOUGH.

Sofo: AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'RE TAKING MONEY AWAY FROM DISTRICTS THAT ARE DOING A REASONABLY DECENT JOB TO SERVE ENTITIES THAT HAVE MIXED RESULTS.

School Sleuth: MIXED RESULTS?

I GOT TO TELL YOU, THAT GUY'S BEING KIND.

ON TOP OF HIGH CHURN RATES, CYBER SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES ARE LESS THAN HALF THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.

Woman: VERY GOOD, JESSIE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK, MOLLY?

Bedortha: MOST OF MY SENIORS DIDN'T GRADUATE LAST YEAR.

AND THAT'S HARD.

Bartender: WHAT'S GOING ON, SLEUTH?

-HOW DO THEY GET AWAY WITH THAT?

– School Sleuth: BEATS ME.

MAYBE WE JUST AREN'T PAYING ENOUGH ATTENTION.

BUT, HEY, GET A LOAD OF THIS.

K12 MAKES A LOT OF MONEY.

$33 MILLION ONE YEAR, $28 MILLION ANOTHER, $19 MILLION.

PUBLIC SCHOOL MAKING ALL THAT PROFIT.

AND NOT ONLY THAT, GET THIS -- THAT GUY WHO STARTED P.A.

CYBER -- HE'S BEEN INDICTED, CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING 8 MILLION BUCKS.

-THAT CASE IS PENDING.

– Bartender: WOW.

SO WHEN MONEY'S THE BOTTOM LINE, KIDS GET SHORTCHANGED, HUH?

– School Sleuth: IT CAN HAPPEN.

– Bartender: YEAH, WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR CLIENTS MIGHT HAVE A CASE.

BUT THESE ARE CYBER SCHOOLS, RIGHT, SLEUTH?

WHAT ABOUT REAL SCHOOLS?

YOU KNOW -- THE ONES KIDS GO TO?

WHAT'S GOING ON THERE?

School Sleuth: THAT'S COMPLICATED.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT A GUY I MET WHO BELIEVES THAT COMPUTERS CAN DO AS GOOD A JOB -- MAYBE BETTER -- THAN REAL TEACHERS.

WAY OUT IN YUMA, ARIZONA, I MET UP WITH RICK OGSTON.

Ogston: I BELIEVE, AND IT IS MY GOAL TO GET THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS TO COMPLETE THEIR HIGH-SCHOOL CURRICULUM, ALL THE CREDITS, BY 10th GRADE.

Bartender: HOLD ON, HOLD ON.

FOUR YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL IN JUST TWO YEARS?

[ SCOFFS ] HOW'S HE PLAN TO GET AWAY WITH THAT?

School Sleuth: I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU.

HE CALLS HIS SCHOOL CARPE DIEM.

YOU KNOW -- "SEIZE THE DAY."

GAVE UP ON THE REAL LIFE, I CRY JUST A LITTLE HE'S GOT 220 STUDENTS... AND EVEN MORE COMPUTERS.

Ogston: WE'RE IN AN INNOVATIVE TIME, AND IT'S TIME FOR PEOPLE NOT TO TRY TO JUST CLONE EACH OTHER, BUT TO TRULY INNOVATE AND TRY NEW THINGS, TRY NEW BLENDS.

School Sleuth: BLENDING -- THAT'S WHAT HE'S DOING -- MIXING TEACHERS AND COMPUTERS.

Woman: SO, YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO BE PROFESSIONAL, JUST LIKE LAWYERS, AND WRITE A CLOSING STATEMENT THAT IS VERY PERSUASIVE.

School Sleuth: STUDENTS SPEND PART OF THE DAY WITH TEACHERS.

Woman: MM-HMM.

YOU GOT IT.

School Sleuth: BUT MOST OF THE TIME, THEY'RE IN THIS ROOM, IN FRONT OF SCREENS.

I TELL YOU, IT SURE LOOKED TO ME LIKE COMPUTERS WERE REPLACING TEACHERS.

I WONDERED WHAT THE KIDS WERE DOING.

Vanhook: THE COMPUTER GIVES THEM ALL THE BASIC FACTS, OKAY?

THEY'RE LEARNING FACTS.

THEY'RE LEARNING HARD-CORE FACTS.

THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S FED THEM EACH DAY, AND THEY MUST DO THAT WORK.

Man: LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU REACH YOUR GOAL, OKAY?

Girl: OKAY.

School Sleuth: CARPE DIEM USES MACHINES TO TEACH, TEST, AND TRACK EVERY STUDENT.

THE COMPUTER, NOT A TEACHER, TELLS STUDENTS WHAT TO DO NEXT.

I ASKED A KID TO SHOW ME HOW IT WORKS.

Hackman: THIS IS MY PROGRESS BAR.

IT SHOWS ME WHAT PERCENT I'M AT AND WHERE I NEED TO BE.

SO, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY BLUE, AND THAT MEANS I'M ON TARGET OR WITHIN 3%.

BUT RED MEANS YOU ARE BEHIND.

AND AHEAD IS THIS COLOR GREEN.

AND I LOVE TO SEE THAT, 'CAUSE I LOVE THAT COLOR GREEN.

Chopra: IT'S REAL-TIME DATA.

WE GET IT RIGHT AWAY.

THAT SAME MINUTE, WE KNOW THAT THIS CHILD IS STRUGGLING IN THIS CONCEPT, AND IT EVEN GIVES US WHAT CONCEPT YOU'RE MISSING.

School Sleuth: TEACHERS TOLD ME THEY USE THE DATA TO PLAN LESSONS AND PUT KIDS INTO GROUPS.

Chopra: OKAY, VERY GOOD.

NOW, SO, PUT IT IN YOUR SEARCH ENGINE, PLEASE.

Russell: SO, I CAN HAVE A CLASS HERE WITH BENETHA IN ENGLISH, BECAUSE WE'RE GOOD AT ENGLISH, AND, THEN, IF I'M BAD AT MATH, I'LL HAVE A CLASS WITH ANOTHER STUDENT WHO'S AT THE SAME LEVEL IN MATH WITH ME.

Ogston: THIS IS NOT NEW.

TEACHERS HAVE ALWAYS PERSONALIZED EDUCATION.

WHAT'S NEW IS THE KIND OF SCALE THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE.

YOU CANNOT PERSONALIZE EDUCATION AT SCALE WITHOUT LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY, PERIOD.

YOU CAN'T DO IT.

School Sleuth: YOU KNOW, HE MIGHT BE RIGHT.

Man: AND WE'RE ON PAGE EIGHT.

School Sleuth: IN MOST SCHOOLS, THE TEACHER GIVES ONE LESSON TO ALL THE KIDS.

PROBLEM IS, SOME KIDS ARE BEHIND, FEELING LOST, WHILE OTHERS ARE AHEAD AND GET BORED.

BUT HERE, COMPUTERS CAN GIVE EACH KID A DIFFERENT LESSON THAT'S JUST RIGHT FOR THAT KID -- NOT TOO HARD, NOT TOO EASY.

AND KIDS CAN GO AS FAST AS THEY WANT.

Russell: I AM ALREADY TAKING A YEAR AHEAD IN MY MATH COURSE, BECAUSE I'M REALLY GOOD AT MATH.

Lahey: THE MOMENT I'M IN A GROOVE, IT TAKES AWHILE TO STOP ME, SO I KEEP GOING.

I'M ON THE COMPUTER, I WANT TO SAY, SEVEN TO EIGHT HOURS A DAY.

Bartender: WAIT A MINUTE, SLEUTH.

EIGHT HOURS A DAY ON A COMPUTER?

I THOUGHT THAT GUY SAID IT WAS "PERSONALIZED" EDUCATION.

SO, WHERE'S THE PERSON?

School Sleuth: I'VE BEEN THINKING THAT MYSELF.

YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN WONDERING, "CAN IT BE HEALTHY FOR KIDS TO SPEND ALL THAT TIME IN FRONT OF COMPUTERS?"

Dr. Ruth: IF I CAN INTERRUPT HERE, I BELIEVE I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT.

School Sleuth: ARE YOU A DOCTOR?

DR. Ruth: OF COURSE.

A DOCTOR IN THE STUDY OF THE FAMILY.

NOW, THAT BOY THAT YOU MENTIONED -- HE'S NOT ALONE.

KIDS TODAY ARE SPENDING AN AVERAGE OF SEVEN HOURS A DAY WITH ALL THEIR SCREENS, PHONES, AND DEVICES.

SURVEYS HAVE SHOWN THAT KIDS WHO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME PLUGGED IN ARE EXERCISING LESS AND EATING MORE.

EXCESSIVE MEDIA USE CAN ALSO LEAD TO ATTENTION PROBLEMS.

School Sleuth: I WAS THINKING THAT MYSELF.

THANKS VERY MUCH, DOC.

Dr. Ruth: YOU ARE WELCOME!

Bartender: STARTING TOMORROW, SOME NEW RULES IN MY HOUSE.

School Sleuth: AND YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE?

ALL THAT TIME IN FRONT OF A COMPUTER IS NOT PAYING OFF.

SCORES AT CARPE DIEM HAVE BEEN GOING DOWN IN READING, MATH, AND SCIENCE.

Bartender: LIKE I SAID, TOMORROW, NEW RULES.

Man: ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT.

CARPE DIEM.

School Sleuth: DON'T FORGET, EFFICIENCY IS RICK OGSTON'S GOAL -- GETTING STUDENTS TO COMPLETE THEIR HIGH-SCHOOL CREDITS IN TWO YEARS INSTEAD OF FOUR.

Ogston: WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS JUST KEEP KIDS IN HIGH SCHOOL JUST BECAUSE THEY "HAVE TO COMPLETE" FOUR YEARS.

IT'S ABOUT LEARNING THINGS.

AND IF THEY CAN LEARN IT QUICKER, IF THEY CAN LEARN IT IN LESS TIME, THEN WHY NOT?

Man: AND THE HARDEST-WORKING STUDENT TODAY, SHERRIDAN HACKMAN.

WELL-DONE, SHERRIDAN.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] Hackman: IT'S A LOT IN A DAY.

I MEAN, IT'S KIND OF LIKE ANY OTHER SCHOOL.

IT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF WORK PILED INTO YOUR HEAD IN ONE DAY.

THEN, THE NEXT DAY, YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA FORGET IT.

[ LAUGHS ] THAT'S WITH ME.

BUT, I MEAN, I JUST... [ BREATHES DEEPLY ] IT'S DIFFICULT, BUT IT'S OKAY.

I LIKE IT.

School Sleuth: SHE SAID SHE LIKED IT, BUT I WASN'T CONVINCED, SO I ASKED SOME OTHER KIDS WHAT THEY LIKED.

Russell: I REALLY LIKE ART, AND I REALLY LIKE VOLLEYBALL, AND I WANT TO PLAY VIOLIN AGAIN, AND I CAN'T DO THAT AT THIS SCHOOL.

Ogston: I DO BELIEVE IN THE ARTS.

I LOVE PLAYING.

I'M A MUSICIAN MYSELF.

BUT IS IT NECESSARY TO HAVE ART AND MUSIC?

NO.

Bartender: NO ART OR MUSIC?

NO TEAM SPORTS?

WHAT'S GOING ON?

School Sleuth: FOLLOW THE MONEY.

IF YOU DON'T NEED ART OR MUSIC CREDITS TO GRADUATE, THEN THE SCHOOL DOESN'T HAVE TO HIRE THOSE TEACHERS.

MOST SCHOOLS THAT SIZE WOULD HAVE AT LEAST 10 TEACHERS.

CARPE DIEM HAS FOUR.

THAT SAVES THEM A BUNDLE OF DOUGH.

I MEAN, COMPUTERS ARE A LOT CHEAPER THAN HUMANS.

Bartender: AHA.

SO YOUR CLIENTS WERE RIGHT TO BE UPSET.

COMPUTERS ARE REPLACING TEACHERS.

School Sleuth: UH, MAYBE SO, BUT I NEEDED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY WHO KNEW MORE THAN I DID.

Bartender: MORE THAN YOU, SLEUTH?

IMPOSSIBLE.

Culatta: JUST GETTING KIDS THROUGH SCHOOL FASTER IS NOT A SUPER-COMPELLING GOAL.

School Sleuth: THIS GUY -- RICHARD CULATTA -- IS DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

FIGURED HE'D KNOW IF COMPUTERS WERE REPLACING TEACHERS.

Culatta: THIS ISN'T ABOUT TEACHERS OR TECHNOLOGY.

THIS IS ABOUT GIVING THE RIGHT TOOLS TO THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WHEN THEY NEED THEM.

COULD YOU IMAGINE IF YOU SAID IT'S ABOUT BOOKS OR TEACHERS?

YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THE TWO, ONE OR THE OTHER, BOOKS OR TEACHERS, RIGHT?

THAT'S A PREPOSTEROUS ARGUMENT.

NOBODY WOULD GO ALONG WITH THAT, BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT BOOKS WORK WELL WHEN THEY'RE IN THE HANDS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO LEARN SOMETHING.

IT'S THE SAME WITH TECHNOLOGY.

School Sleuth: OKAY, OKAY.

THEY GO TOGETHER.

SO NOW I HAD TO FIND A SCHOOL THAT WASN'T CUTTING CORNERS.

YOU KNOW -- LOTS OF COMPUTERS AND LOTS OF TEACHERS.

SOURCE TOLD ME ABOUT A SCHOOL IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MY INFORMANT SAID IT'S A TYPICAL MIDDLE SCHOOL.

BUT FOR A MINUTE THERE, I THOUGHT I WAS IN AN AIRPORT.

LOOKED LIKE THE KIDS WERE CHECKING TO SEE IF THEIR FLIGHTS WERE ON TIME.

TURNED OUT THEY WERE JUST GETTING THEIR MATH ASSIGNMENT.

Cohen: WONDERFUL JOB.

TAKE THESE, SAVE THEM.

POP OUTSIDE, FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO FOR SECOND PERIOD, PLEASE.

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS PROGRAM IS THE ORGANIZED CHAOS.

IN A TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM, YOU SIT DOWN, YOU STOP TALKING, YOU WRITE THE NOTES, AND THAT'S THAT.

School Sleuth: THE SCHOOL TORE DOWN WALLS TO CREATE ONE BIG CLASSROOM FOR ABOUT 100 STUDENTS, FIVE TEACHERS, AND A LOT OF COMPUTERS.

EACH SECTION OF THE ROOM HAS A DIFFERENT PURPOSE.

OVER HERE, TEACHERS DELIVER NEW LESSONS, LIKE HOW TO DIVIDE FRACTIONS.

Boy: AND THEN YOU GET 100.

School Sleuth: THE TEACHER TALKS.

THE KIDS LISTEN AND ASK QUESTIONS.

Gordon: SO, THE DENOMINATOR... School Sleuth: GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED TEACHING -- NOTHING NEW THERE.

Gordon: OKAY, SO WRITE THAT DOWN.

School Sleuth: BUT THE REST OF THE ROOM -- SOME KIDS ARE IN GROUPS, PRACTICING WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED.

Girl #1: I'M GONNA REDO IT ON A GRAPH.

Girl #2: ME TOO, 'CAUSE I WANT TO GET A FOUR.

School Sleuth: OTHERS ARE WORKING ON PROBLEMS BY THEMSELVES.

Gallina: YOU HAVE KIDS THAT ARE AT LEAST DOING 10 DIFFERENT SKILLS, SO ABOUT 20 KIDS ON 10 DIFFERENT SKILLS -- NOT POSSIBLE IN A REGULAR CLASSROOM.

School Sleuth: OVER HERE, KIDS WHO NEED EXTRA HELP ARE BACK WITH A TEACHER.

Kaswell: CAN WE BE VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT, WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?

Boy: PROPORTIONAL.

– Kaswell: WHAT DID KAREN SAY?

– Boy: PROPORTIONAL.

Kaswell: EXACTLY.

School Sleuth: AND IT'S ALL GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME.

Woman: ABSOLUTELY.

SO WE WANT TO SIMPLIFY.

School Sleuth: THEN, AT THE END OF EACH CLASS, EVERY STUDENT TAKES A QUIZ.

RIGHT AWAY, THE COMPUTER DELIVERS SCORES TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.

AND GET THIS.

Joel: THAT DATA COMES RIGHT BACK TO THIS OFFICE, AND WE CREATE YOUR SCHEDULE FOR TOMORROW BASED ON HOW YOU DID TODAY.

THIS KID GOT 4 AND 5... School Sleuth: THAT'S JOEL ROSE, THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH THEY CALL TEACH TO ONE.

RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST FOR MATH, BUT HE SAID THEY'D LIKE TO COVER OTHER SUBJECTS SOMEDAY.

I GOT A TOUR OF THE MANHATTAN OFFICE FROM THE OTHER FOUNDER -- A FELLA NAMED CHRIS RUSH.

Rush: THIS IS OUR MINI-WAREHOUSE.

IT'S A COMBINATION OF GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED TEXTBOOKS AND WORKBOOKS, AS WELL AS ONLINE VIDEOS AND OTHER ONLINE MATERIALS.

School Sleuth: HE SAID THEY CHERRY-PICK LESSONS, FEED THEM INTO THE COMPUTER PROGRAM TO CREATE THE CURRICULUM.

Rush: WE'VE GONE THROUGH ABOUT 80,000 LESSONS, AND THEN WE REALLY ONLY USE THE TOP 10,000 OF THOSE TO GIVE TO KIDS.

School Sleuth: HE ALSO TOLD ME THEY REVISE OR SCRAP LESSONS THAT DON'T SEEM TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN.

THAT'S SOMETHING TEXTBOOKS CAN'T DO TILL THE NEXT PRINTING.

THEN I HIT HIM WITH MY BIG QUESTION.

IS YOUR GOAL TO REPLACE TEACHERS?

Joel: QUITE THE CONTRARY.

THIS IS ABOUT REPLACING TEXTBOOKS, NOT TEACHERS.

WE WANT TO EMPOWER TEACHERS AND GIVE THEM THE BEST SET OF TOOLS WE CAN, LIKE WE'D GIVE A DOCTOR THE BEST SET OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT OR A PILOT THE BEST SET OF TECHNOLOGY ON BOARD AN AIRCRAFT.

School Sleuth: I WAS IMPRESSED.

THE COMPUTER CREATES A DIFFERENT SCHEDULE FOR EVERY KID AND EVERY TEACHER EVERY DAY.

NO HUMAN COULD DO THAT.

Rush: THEN, AROUND 4:00, SOME PREVIEW SCHEDULES OR PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE COMES OUT, AND WE TRY TO TWEAK IT AND REFINE IT AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES THAT WE OR THE TEACHERS THINK SHOULD BE MADE.

AND, THEN, WE FINALIZE THE SCHEDULES AND SEND THEM OUT TO THE STUDENTS AND THE TEACHERS.

Kaswell: I GET A NEW SCHEDULE EVERY SINGLE DAY BASED ON HOW THE KIDS DID THAT PREVIOUS DAY.

IT TELLS ME WHEN I'M TEACHING, WHO I'M TEACHING, WHAT TOPICS I'M TEACHING, WHERE I'M TEACHING THEM, AND IT GIVES ME SOME MATERIALS TO WORK WITH.

School Sleuth: AFTER I SAW THE WHOLE OPERATION, IT STARTED TO MAKE SENSE.

BUT I STILL HAD A FEW QUESTIONS.

YOU WORK FOR THE COMPUTER, OR THE COMPUTER WORKS FOR YOU?

Kaswell: THE COMPUTER WORKS FOR ME.

THE COMPUTER IS DUMB.

I SPENT SO MUCH TIME IN MY OLD CLASSROOM GATHERING DATA.

NOW I CAN HAVE THE DATA GATHERED FOR ME.

NOW I CAN USE IT AND PLAN WITH IT.

WE CAN SOLVE THIS ONE.

WHAT THE COMPUTER GENERALLY DOESN'T DO WELL IS TEACH A LIVE INSTRUCTION, ASSESS WHERE STUDENTS ARE RIGHT THEN, ASK LEADING QUESTIONS, PROBE STUDENTS.

IF THEY'RE HAVING TROUBLE, WE CAN PUSH THEM, ASK THEM, AND THAT SORT OF THING, AND THE COMPUTER CAN'T DO THAT.

School Sleuth: ALSO WONDERED HOW TEACHERS FELT ABOUT WORKING ON A TEAM, WORKING IN THE SAME ROOM.

Gordon: THE BIGGEST ADJUSTMENT FOR ME WAS JUST TEACHING IN FRONT OF A LOT OF PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, IF I'M TEACHING OVER HERE, ANYBODY IN THE ROOM CAN HEAR ME.

YOU KNOW, AND NOTHING'S PRIVATE ANYMORE.

Cohen: OOH.

THE THIRD TIME.

PUTTING TEAM ABOVE SELF IS A CHALLENGE.

SO WHEN WE MAKE A DECISION, IT'S NOT I.

IT'S ALWAYS THE TEAM.

WHENEVER WE E-MAIL EACH OTHER, IT'S TEAM.

EVERYTHING GOES BACK TO US.

Gallina: WE'RE HAPPY.

I MEAN, WE GET ASKED, "DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR?"

– Kaswell: YEAH, YEAH.

– Gallina: AND WE'RE LIKE, "YES.

IF YOU LET US, YOU KNOW, WE'LL DO IT.

WE'RE READY TO GO WITH IT."

Kaswell: FELT TO ME LIKE THEY'RE ONTO SOMETHING.

Rush: WE'D LOVE A WORLD ONE DAY WHERE MODELS LIKE THIS, INCLUDING OURS, ARE REALLY POWERING MORE THAN HALF OF THE STUDENTS IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.

Bartender: TELL ME, SLEUTH, HOW MANY STUDENTS DO WE HAVE HERE IN THE U.S.?

School Sleuth: ABOUT 50 MILLION.

Bartender: AND HOW MANY IN THIS PROGRAM?

School Sleuth: ABOUT 6,000.

Bartender: AND IT'S JUST MATH, RIGHT?

NOT ENGLISH, NOT SCIENCE, NOTHING ELSE?

School Sleuth: I SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS.

IT'S TRUE, IT'S JUST A DROP IN A BUCKET.

Bartender: AND IT'S GOT TO BE EXPENSIVE, RIGHT?

ALL THOSE COMPUTERS, BIG OFFICE IN MANHATTAN.

School Sleuth: BUT IT'S A PILOT PROGRAM.

WHEN THEY ADD MORE KIDS, THE COSTS WILL GO DOWN.

BUT IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT COSTS, HOW ABOUT FREE?

Bartender: FREE?

HUH.

FREE I CAN AFFORD.

Khan: OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS "A FREE WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION FOR ANYONE, ANYWHERE."

EXACTLY.

School Sleuth: THIS GUY -- SAL KHAN -- -IS A DIGITAL-LEARNING PIONEER.

– Man: YEAH.

School Sleuth: HE TOLD ME HOW, BACK IN 2006, HE STARTED POSTING VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET TO HELP HIS COUSINS WITH THEIR MATH HOMEWORK.

Khan: SO, LET'S SAY I HAD THE EQUATION 5 -- THAT'S A BIG, FAT 5 -- 5X = 20.

School Sleuth: WORD OF THE VIDEOS SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE.

NOW MILLIONS OF PEOPLE GO TO THE KHAN ACADEMY WEBSITE TO GET HELP WITH MATH, SCIENCE, AND OTHER SUBJECTS.

Khan: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE.

THIS IS THE KOREAN PENINSULA RIGHT HERE, AND THIS IS JAPAN.

School Sleuth: DOESN'T COST A PENNY.

AND SAL KHAN'S NOT THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN.

THERE'S PLENTY OF OTHER FREE SOFTWARE THAT SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS CAN USE.

TODAY, MORE THAN 90,000 TEACHERS ARE USING KHAN ACADEMY.

Khan: IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT KHAN ACADEMY IS GIVING THE WHOLE EDUCATION.

WE VIEW THIS AS, AS YOU GO, AS YOU ACTIVELY LEARN, AND YOU'RE DOING THINGS, THESE VIDEOS ARE A RESOURCE FOR YOU.

AND THEY'RE SHORT, AND HOPEFULLY, THEY CAN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.

Boy: BACK ON THE GOOGLE.

YEAH, SEE?

'CAUSE... School Sleuth: I'VE BEEN WORKING THIS CASE FOR MONTHS.

SEEN TEACHERS MIXING TECHNOLOGY INTO THEIR TEACHING.

AND THIS ONE TERM KEPT POPPING UP.

– Rush: BLENDED LEARNING.

– Ogston: BLENDED LEARNING.

Thordarson: BLENDED LEARNING.

Manko: EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT BLENDED LEARNING NOW, SO... School Sleuth: TROUBLE IS, EVERYONE SEEMS TO HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS.

Kaswell: TECHNOLOGY AND... School Sleuth: WHAT IS BLENDED LEARNING?

Woman: GO FOR IT.

[ LAUGHS ] Man: YOU WANT TO GO FIRST?

Elmer: IT'S A TERM THAT KIND OF, PROBABLY IS WHAT WE WERE ALWAYS DOING ANYWAY.

Man: EXPERIENTIAL.

IS THERE A TERM LIKE THAT -- EXPERIENTIAL?

Woman #1: THERE IS THE FLIPPING.

Woman #2: I THINK IT KIND OF CROSSES MANY SUBJECTS TOGETHER.

Woman #1: IS THAT WHAT BLENDED LEARNING IS?

School Sleuth: YOU KNOW YOU BOTH FLUNKED?

Woman: I KNOW.

[ LAUGHS ] School Sleuth: YOU'RE COMPLETELY WRONG.

Elmer: WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO KINDERGARTEN?

– Woman: YEAH.

– School Sleuth: MAYBE SAL KHAN COULD STRAIGHTEN IT OUT FOR ME.

Khan: SO, THERE ARE TWO TYPE -- YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IMAGINE THERE'S PHYSICAL LEARNING, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE ALL GREW UP IN -- YOUR CLASSROOM, YOUR PEERS, THE TEACHER, THE SCHOOL.

Kaswell: WOULD YOU TAKE OUT YOUR NOTEBOOKS... Khan: AND, THEN, THERE'S THIS ONLINE STUFF.

THERE'S THINGS WHERE YOU CAN GO TO A WEB PAGE AND GET VIDEOS AND EXERCISES.

AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE TRY TO CREATE A TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO, WHERE THEY SAY, "HEY, YOU KNOW, IS THIS amazon.com, VERSUS BARNES & NOBLE?"

AND BLENDED LEARNING IS LIKE, "NO, NO, NO.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT."

IT'S ABOUT LEVERAGING THE BEST OF BOTH AND BLENDING THEM TOGETHER SO THAT YOU CAN LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY WHERE TECHNOLOGY IS APPROPRIATE FOR STUDENTS TO GET THINGS ON DEMAND, TO BE ABLE TO GET DATA, TO GET FEEDBACK IN REAL TIME.

BUT, THEN, THAT LIBERATES THE CLASSROOM... -Girl #1: 'CAUSE THE "X."

-Girl #2: BECAUSE IT'S "X."

Khan: ...FREEING UP HUMANS TO DO WHAT HUMANS ARE GOOD AT, WHICH IS FORMING BONDS, RELATIONSHIPS, DOING MORE CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.

Bartender: BLENDING, HUH?

I COULD TELL YOU A THING OR TWO ABOUT THAT.

BLENDS THAT WORK -- GIN AND TONIC.

BLENDS THAT DON'T -- BEER AND TONIC.

SO, YOU EVER FIND THE PERFECT BLEND?

School Sleuth: I SAW STUFF THAT WOULD DRIVE A MAN TO DRINK.

LOTS OF SCHOOLS DON'T SHOW ANY IMAGINATION AT ALL.

Woman: TELL ME WHO'S TYREE IN OUR STORY.

School Sleuth: BASICALLY, THEY JUST SWAPPED COMPUTERS FOR TEXTBOOKS, TEACHING FACTS, LIKE CAPITALS OF COUNTRIES OR THE PERIODIC TABLE, AND SKILLS...

Boy: DOG.

School Sleuth: ...PHONICS, HOW TO ADD AND DIVIDE, DIAGRAM A SENTENCE.

SAL KHAN TOLD ME SOME SCHOOLS MISUSE HIS PROGRAM.

Khan: I HAVE UNFORTUNATELY HEARD OF THIS, OF THE VIDEOS BEING SHOWN ON A PROJECTOR IN THE FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM.

YOU KNOW, LIKE, THAT'S A MISUSE.

BUT I'D ALSO SAY IT'S A MISUSE OF KHAN ACADEMY IF YOU'RE USING THIS RESOURCE TO MAKE ALL THE KIDS GO IN LOCKSTEP OR IF YOU'RE SAYING, "YOU MUST FINISH THIS BY TOMORROW.

OTHERWISE, YOUR GRADE IS GONNA GO DOWN."

THE BEST WAY TO STIFLE LEARNING, THE BEST WAY TO STIFLE CREATIVITY, -IS THROUGH COERCION.

– Woman: ALL RIGHT.

School Sleuth: SURE LOOKED TO ME LIKE KIDS WERE LEARNING ONLY WHAT THEY NEEDED TO JUST TO PASS A TEST -- PRETTY BASIC STUFF.

Woman: ALL RIGHT, WE'RE AT THE TOP OF PAGE 241.

School Sleuth: TOO BASIC, ACCORDING TO MY SOURCES.

Culatta: YOU HAVE A DEVICE THAT HAS MORE COMPUTING POWER THAN WHAT WE USED TO TAKE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO THE MOON, AND YOU'RE USING IT FOR DITTOS?

THAT'S NOT THE TYPE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING THAT WE ARE SEEING WHEN TECHNOLOGY'S USED EFFECTIVELY.

Bartender: SO, DID YOU SEE ANY SCHOOLS DOING IT RIGHT?

School Sleuth: I SURE DID.

YOU WANT TO SEE?

Bartender: [ WHISTLES ] PRETTY HIGH-TECH, SLEUTH.

School Sleuth: JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON.

Rosenstein: AS YOU'RE RESEARCHING, IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ASK FAITH OR THE OTHER KIDS, YOU CAN WRITE THAT DOWN, TOO.

School Sleuth: THESE THIRD GRADERS ARE GETTING READY TO GO ON A FIELD TRIP -- A VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP.

– Man: ZEBRAS.

– Rosenstein: YES.

WE STUDY CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD, AND RATHER THAN ME TELLING THE KIDS DIFFERENT TIDBITS OF INFORMATION, THE KIDS HAVE ACCESS TO PEOPLE LIVE.

WE'RE GOING TO ASK A FEW MORE QUESTIONS, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU.

Boy: I'M READY FOR THEM.

Rosenstein: OKAY, GOOD.

JOHN MARCO, CAN YOU ASK YOUR QUESTION?

Marco: CAN YOU TEACH US SOME WORDS IN LUGANDA?

Boy #2: CAN WE SING A SONG FOR YOU?

Boy #1: YES.

I AM EXCITED.

[ LAUGHTER ] [ GUITAR PLAYS ] Together: AMANI UTUPE NA USTAWI Boy: I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SO FUN THAT WE WERE ALL SINGING TOGETHER AND WE COULD LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.

Together: AMANI UTUPE NA USTAWI Girl: THIS IS THE AMERICAN FLAG.

All: PLEASE GIVE US COURAGE AMANI UTUPE NA USTAWI Girl: THEY WERE, LIKE, REALLY UPBEAT.

[ ALL SINGING IN LUGANDA ] AND WE WERE JUST SITTING HERE.

WE SHOULD, LIKE, DO WHAT THEY DID.

Rosenstein: IT'S REALLY OPENED UP THEIR EYES TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.

AND HAVING THE KIDS MEET A LITTLE GIRL WHO'S THE SAME AGE AS THEM SO FAR AWAY MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

All: WE FEEL SO MUCH CLOSER WE FEEL SO MUCH CLOSER Man: A LITTLE LOUDER.

ONE LAST TIME.

All: WE FEEL SO MUCH CLOSER -Rosenstein: AWW!

– Boy: THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Boy #2: THANK YOU!

Rosenstein: SO NICE.

Bartender: I'M FEELING IT, SLEUTH.

TECHNOLOGY LETS KIDS EXPLORE THE WORLD.

School Sleuth: EXACTLY.

NOW PUSH THAT NEXT BUTTON.

Young woman: EXPERTS MAKE EVIDENT THAT ARMED POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD BE IN SCHOOLS... School Sleuth: WHEN I SAW THESE SIXTH GRADERS IN NEW JERSEY HAVING A DEBATE, I THOUGHT, "BIG DEAL.

NOTHING NEW ABOUT THAT"... Young woman: ...THE ANTI-BULLYING LAWS... School Sleuth: ...UNTIL I REALIZED THEIR OPPONENTS WERE 50 MILES AWAY.

Young woman: ...WILL BE MUCH SAFER.

Young woman #2: WE KNOW THAT THE JOB OF A POLICE OFFICER IS TO ENFORCE THE LAW, BUT IN SCHOOL, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT KIDS, NOT CRIMINALS.

School Sleuth: EVERYONE WAS CONNECTED BY TECHNOLOGY -- THE JUDGES, SOME EXPERTS, OTHER STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE U.S. AND CANADA.

Young man: SECURITY GUARDS DO THE SAME THING, AND THEIR HOURLY WAGE IS ONLY $13.10.

Young woman: WE THOUGHT IT'D JUST BE LIKE A DEBATE IN OUR CLASS.

Young man: AND, THEN, WE FOUND OUT THAT WE WERE, LIKE, GOING AGAINST ANOTHER SCHOOL.

Woman: WE'LL HAVE THE CONFERRAL PERIOD FOR SOUTH ORANGE MIDDLE.

YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE.

Young woman: I WAS KIND OF SHOCKED AND A LITTLE NERVOUS.

Young woman #2: BUT, ALSO, LIKE, IT SEEMED LIKE IT'D MAKE IT MORE, LIKE, FUN AND INTERESTING.

Young woman #3: SO, JUST THINK, CAN YOU REALLY COMPARE MONEY TO THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS?

[ APPLAUSE ] Butler: IN THE PAST, I HAD MY KIDS JUST DEBATING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE THEM DEBATING AGAINST SOMEONE THEY DON'T KNOW, THERE'S THAT LITTLE LEVEL OF COMPETITION THAT COMES INTO PLAY.

IT MAKES KIDS RISE TO A LEVEL THAT YOU'RE NOT USED TO SEEING THEM AT.

Young woman: WE ARE LOOKING FOR A SENSE OF COMMUNITY IN OUR SCHOOLS.

Malespina: AND THEN HAVE JUDGES FROM AROUND THE U.S. AND CANADA WATCHING THEM.

IT RAISES THE STAKES.

Man: YOU GUYS REALLY STEPPED UP, AND YOU PRESENTED BOTH SIDES CLEARLY, EFFECTIVELY.

Bartender: A LOT TO LIKE HERE, SLEUTH, BUT... School Sleuth: I HEAR YOU, I HEAR YOU.

I'M JUST GETTING TO THE GOOD PART.

Culatta: ONE OF THE THINGS I AM MOST EXCITED ABOUT THE ROLE THAT TECHNOLOGY CAN PLAY IS, IT CREATES CREATORS.

IT TAKES STUDENTS AWAY FROM BEING PASSIVE SOAKER-UPPERS OF STUFF THAT WE TELL THEM TO BEING CREATORS, TO BUILDING AND DESIGNING AND JUST BEING INCREDIBLY INVOLVED IN THE SUBJECTS THAT THEY'RE EXPLORING.

School Sleuth: LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT HE MEANS.

CHECK THIS OUT.

Elmer: ...WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT HER.

School Sleuth: REMEMBER MAKING A CARD FOR YOUR MOM ON MOTHER'S DAY THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY?

Elmer: AND SO, THE FOURTH GRADERS HAVE BEEN PRACTICING WITH THE APP.

School Sleuth: WELL, THAT'S GONE HIGH-TECH.

Boy #1: LIKE THIS.

Boy #2: AND MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AT... Elmer: THE KIDS ARE SO EXCITED.

THEY LOVE TECHNOLOGY.

IT JUST TOTALLY ENGAGES THEM.

School Sleuth: THIS TEACHER HAD FOURTH GRADERS TEACHING HER KINDERGARTNERS.

Boy: SO, YOU SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY.

Girl: AND IT WILL BE JUST LIKE YOU TALKING TO HER -IN REAL LIFE.

– Boy: OKAY?

CAN YOU TELL YOUR MOMMY GOOD THINGS?

OKAY.

READY?

Isabel: "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY," BY ISABEL.

"SOMETIMES, YOU GET DISCOURAGED BECAUSE I AM SO SMALL, AND I ALWAYS LEAVE MY FINGER PAINTS ON FURNITURE AND WALLS.

BUT EVERY DAY I'M GROWING UP, AND SOON I'LL BE SO TALL."

Boy: 1, 2, 3.

IT'S IN MARKER RIGHT HERE.

WRITE DOWN IN PEN HERE, OKAY?

[ COMPUTER CLICKS ] Boy #2: OKAY, SO, LET'S USE THIS ONE.

Isabel: "YOU CAN SAY THIS IS HOW MY FINGERS LOOKED -WHEN I PLACED THEM HERE TODAY."

– Boy: PERFECT.

SO, THIS IS WHAT YOU DID.

Boy #2: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM.

I LOVE YOU.

Bartender: THAT'S GREAT STUFF, SLEUTH -- KIDS WORKING TOGETHER, GETTING THE HANG OF TECHNOLOGY.

School Sleuth: NOT JUST DOING WHAT A MACHINE TOLD THEM TO DO.

-THEY'RE CALLING THE SHOTS.

– Bartender: RIGHT.

AND THAT TAKES A SPECIAL KIND OF TEACHER.

YOU FIND ANY OF THEM?

School Sleuth: I DID SOME SERIOUS SLEUTHING.

ENDED UP IN QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

[ SCHOOL BELL RINGS ] Storm: ALL RIGHT, GUYS AND GIRLS, WHEN YOU'RE IN THE TABLET, PLEASE DON'T CLICK ON ANYBODY ELSE'S WORK.

YOU KNOW, I USED TO BE UP HERE, PowerPointing AND SHARING INFORMATION AND, "COPY THIS DOWN IN YOUR NOTEBOOKS, 'CAUSE YOU NEED TO LEARN THIS."

AND I'M THINKING, LOOKING BACK...

THEY DIDN'T LEARN THAT STUFF.

YOU KNOW, THEY NEVER INTERACTED WITH IT.

THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING WITH IT.

THEY MEMORIZED IT FOR A TEST.

School Sleuth: SHAWN STORM DOESN'T TEACH THAT WAY ANYMORE.

NOW HE ENCOURAGES HIS SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS TO EXPLORE BIG IDEAS.

Storm: DESCRIBE IN YOUR OWN WORDS WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION.

OKAY, YOU'VE BEEN DOING SOME WORK ON THIS FOR ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF.

WRITE YOUR OWN DEFINITION IN YOUR OWN WORDS WHAT YOU THINK IT IS.

School Sleuth: WHEN I WAS THERE, HE CHALLENGED HIS SIXTH GRADERS TO DESIGN AN IDEAL CIVILIZATION -- THEIR VISION, NOT HIS.

Girl: IT WAS VERY CREATIVE.

IT WASN'T LIKE, "YOU HAVE TO DO THIS AND THIS."

YOU COULD FLOW OUT AND, LIKE, THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.

Girl #2: MR. STORM GIVES US AN IDEA, AND WE USUALLY JUST, LIKE, BUILD OFF OF THAT.

-Girl #3: YEAH, IT WAS FUN.

-Girl #4: OKAY.

Storm: I TOLD THEM, "YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T EXIST.

SO HOWEVER YOU DO THAT, THAT'S UP TO YOU."

School Sleuth: HE WASN'T KIDDING.

HE LET THE KIDS USE THEIR OWN CELLPHONES, TABLETS, VIDEO GAMES.

Storm: THEY HAVE TECHNOLOGY IN EVERY PART OF THEIR LIVES, AND THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THEY COME TO SCHOOL, AND WE'RE GONNA TAKE IT AWAY?

THIS IS GREAT, ANNE.

IN MY OPINION, IT'S ABOUT TRYING TO FIND THAT THING WHERE THE KID CAN CONNECT.

School Sleuth: AS FAR AS I COULD TELL, ONLY A FEW KIDS GOT DISTRACTED, AND THEN JUST FOR A MINUTE OR TWO.

MOST OF THEM TOOK THE JOB OF CREATING A CIVILIZATION VERY SERIOUSLY.

Boy: IF IT'S NOT UP IN TIME, THEN JUST GO BACK TO THIS, AND JUST GO THROUGH THESE A LITTLE FASTER.

Boy #2: DO YOU FARM, OR... -Boy #3: YEAH.

-Boy #2: OKAY.

Boy #3: THIS IS THE FARM RIGHT HERE.

Girl: AND THEN THESE ARE OUR TOP-FIVE LAWS WRITTEN IN OUR LANGUAGE.

TWO, NO DRINKING UNDER THE AGE OF 20.

Girl #2: THIS IS WHAT PUT US ON THE MAP.

WE HAVE CARS THAT RUN ON WATER.

I COULD DO IT FROM A COMPUTER AT MY HOUSE IF I NEEDED TO, AND WE COULD ALL WORK ON IT TOGETHER.

IT'S ALL THERE IN ONE PIECE, BUT IT CAN GO EVERYWHERE.

[ SCHOOL BELL RINGS ] Storm: ALL RIGHT, GUYS, GIRLS, YOU'RE GONNA GO OUT TO THE NEXT GROUP THAT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO.

KEEP MOVING TO THE RIGHT.

School Sleuth: SO FAR, I'D SEEN A TEACHER HERE, A TEACHER THERE WHO EMBRACED TECHNOLOGY, EAGER TO LET KIDS HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR LEARNING.

THEN I STARTED WONDERING, "COULD THAT HAPPEN IN AN ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT?"

I KEPT SEARCHING.

ENDED UP IN LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA.

DISTRICT HAS NINE SCHOOLS.

I INVESTIGATED.

I FOUND A CLASS OF FIFTH GRADERS USING TECHNOLOGY TO DESIGN AND BUILD THEIR OWN BOARD GAMES.

– Girl: THAT'S COOL.

– Woman: ALL RIGHT.

SO, DID THIS LOOK LIKE YOUR DESIGN?

Girl: YEAH.

School Sleuth: IN ANOTHER CLASSROOM, KIDS WERE WORKING ON MATH SKILLS.

OVER HERE, STUDENTS WERE LEARNING HOW TO MAKE COMPUTERS WORK.

Woman: AND EACH PERSON IN THIS ROOM, YOU GUYS CAN PROGRAM, SO YOU CAN PROGRAM THIS CHIP.

School Sleuth: EVERYWHERE I LOOKED, KIDS SEEMED EXCITED TO LEARN, WHETHER THEY WERE USING TECHNOLOGY OR NOT.

THEN, I WANDERED INTO THIS SEVENTH-GRADE CLASSROOM.

Woman: WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY, AND HOW WILL YOU USE THE NEXT GENIUS HOUR?

TELL ME WHAT SKILL YOU IMPROVED.

School Sleuth: THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A DOZEN DIFFERENT PROJECTS GOING ON.

THIS GIRL SAID SHE WAS TRYING TO MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRICITY IN A LEMON.

Hingwe: FOR THE FIRST PART, I'M JUST GONNA TRY TO GET ONE ROW.

School Sleuth: I WASN'T SURE WHAT WAS GOING ON OVER HERE.

Hingwe: SO, WE ARE TRYING TO CREATE AN L.E.D.

SCREEN LIKE THE KIND YOU WOULD SEE ON THE FREEWAY IF THERE IS CONSTRUCTION, LIKE ONE OF THOSE BIG "CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS" SIGNS, WITH THE ORANGE BLINKING LIGHTS, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE GOT A GRID OF L.E.D.s RIGHT HERE.

School Sleuth: HERE'S WHAT I FOUND OUT -- INSTEAD OF THE TEACHER TELLING THE KIDS WHAT TO LEARN, WHAT TO THINK, THESE STUDENTS WERE FREE TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN INTERESTS.

Hingwe: I'M NOT SOLDERING ANYTHING.

WE WANTED TO LEARN HOW TO DO THIS, SO WE'RE LEARNING HOW TO DO IT BY TRYING TO DO IT OURSELVES.

Thordarson: IF IN SCHOOLS WE'RE NOT LETTING KIDS CREATE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AND PUT THEIR OWN VOICE AND THEIR OWN SPIN ON THE INFORMATION, THEN WE'RE FAILING THERE, TOO.

IT NEEDS TO BE -- WE'RE NOT JUST CONSUMING.

WE'RE NOT JUST USING A GOOGLE DOC AND TYPING OR REPLACING A WORKSHEET OR LOOKING SOMETHING UP ON GOOGLE, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY MAKING MEANING OF ALL OF THOSE PIECES THAT WE GATHER, AND WE'RE CREATING SOMETHING OUT OF THAT.

WE'RE CREATING SOMETHING OUT OF OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT.

SO WE WANT TO BE CREATORS, NOT JUST CONSUMERS.

Bartender: I'M SOLD, SLEUTH.

I LIKE IT -- KIDS AS CREATORS, NOT CONSUMERS.

COMPUTERS AREN'T RUINING SCHOOLS.

THEY CAN MAKE THEM BETTER.

CASE CLOSED, RIGHT?

-NICE JOB, SLEUTH.

– School Sleuth: NOT SO FAST.

YOU MISSED AN IMPORTANT CLUE.

Bartender: I DID?

WHAT DID I MISS?

WELL, I SHOWED YOU A COUPLE OF DOZEN GREAT TEACHERS.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TEACHERS WE HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES?

Bartender: WELL, YOU TELL ME.

School Sleuth: MORE THAN 3 MILLION.

THAT'S THE $64,000 QUESTION -- HOW MANY OF THEM ARE READY?

YOU REMEMBER SHAWN STORM?

HE'S READY.

BUT DOWN THE HALL, AT ANOTHER SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS, DIFFERENT STORY.

Kirby: OPEN TO 36.

COULD YOU REAL QUICKLY WITH YOUR FINGER TRACE OVER THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE, PLEASE?

I'LL TELL YOU, I WAS SCARED TO DEATH LAST YEAR, BECAUSE THAT SMART BOARD WAS LOOKING AT ME EVERY DAY, AND I THOUGHT, "WHAT AM I DOING WITH THAT THING?"

YOU'RE BACK IN ON 37 AND SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE MAP ON 36.

School Sleuth: TRUTH BE TOLD, I MET LOTS OF TEACHERS WHO COULD RELATE TO WHAT BARBARA KIRBY WAS FEELING.

Woman: I WAS REALLY NERVOUS.

-Woman #2: I'M REALLY NERVOUS.

-Woman #3: I'M A LITTLE WORRIED.

– Man: I'M WORRIED ABOUT HOW... -Man #2: A LOT OF CHANGES.

Woman: TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME.

Woman #2: I'M NEVER GOING TO GET A BREAK.

Woman #3: IT'S DIFFICULT.

Woman #4: IT'S THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY.

[ INDISTINCT TALKING ] Culatta: THIS IS A SHIFT.

IT'S A BIG SHIFT IN HOW WE LEARN.

AND SO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE SUPPORTING TEACHERS WHO ARE IN SERVICE, IN PRACTICE, WHO MAY NOT KNOW HOW TO USE TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVELY.

School Sleuth: WELL, THAT MAY BE EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

Malespina: TEACHERS ALWAYS LIKE TO BE IN CONTROL.

THEY'RE THE ONES WHO WANT TO CONTROL EVERYTHING IN THE CLASSROOM.

AND YOU CAN'T CONTROL TECHNOLOGY ALL THE TIME.

School Sleuth: THAT'S ELISSA MALESPINA.

SHE'S A SCHOOL LIBRARIAN IN NEW JERSEY AND OFTEN THE FIRST TO TEST THE WATERS.

Malespina: GUYS, GET MY...

I HAVE NO INTERNET.

SO, WHAT I TRY TO DO IS, I TRY TO BE THE ONE WHO WILL TAKE THE RISK WITH THE KIDS AND SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT MAY WORK, SOMETIMES IT MAY FAIL, AND IT'S OKAY.

HI.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Woman: YES, I CAN.

WE'RE HERE.

Malespina: AWESOME.

I AM SO SORRY.

Culatta: EVERY SCHOOL THAT YOU GO INTO, THERE'S SOME BUMPS.

THERE ARE ALWAYS BUMPS WHEN YOU TRANSFORM LEARNING.

IT'S A MESSY PROCESS.

BUT YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT'S NOT WORKING, AND YOU MAKE CHANGES.

AND THE FASTER YOU CAN DO THAT, THE BETTER IT IS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] Malespina: [ CHUCKLES ] School Sleuth: SO, I'M THINKING TO MYSELF, "AND EXACTLY WHO IS IT WHO'S GONNA CONVINCE TEACHERS THAT IT'S OKAY TO TAKE RISKS AND IT'S OKAY TO FAIL?"

Manko: TO TRY SOMETHING NEW IN THE CLASSROOMS, TO USE SOME NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

Walker: WELL, MR. MANKO -- BASICALLY, HE TREATS TEACHERS AS LEADERS.

Adams: SOMETIMES, HE SAYS "GIVE THIS A TRY," AND WE TRY IT, AND IT, YOU KNOW, JUST DOESN'T WORK FOR US.

BUT IF IT DOESN'T WORK, WE'LL REGROUP, AND WE'LL TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

[ APPLAUSE ] School Sleuth: THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THEIR PRINCIPAL.

NAME IS JOE MANKO OUT OF BALTIMORE.

Manko: ALL RIGHT.

READ IT AGAIN.

Girl: "IT IS A SPRING DAY IN"... Manko: I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT RECENTLY ABOUT FAILURE AND HOW I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY HAMPERS OUR SCHOOLS, BECAUSE -- AND I UNDERSTAND WHY, RIGHT?

BECAUSE YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T WANT TO FAIL WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH SOMEBODY ELSE'S KID.

BUT IF YOU DON'T STEP OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT, YOU WON'T GROW AS A PROFESSIONAL.

Woman: YES.

Manko: WE FALL INTO THIS RABBIT HOLE IN A LOT OF SCHOOLS WHERE THERE'S HEAVY, HEAVY INVESTMENT IN THE TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND VERY, VERY LOW INVESTMENT IN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

School Sleuth: THAT MAKES SENSE.

BUT MY SOURCES TELL ME IT'S GONNA COST AT LEAST A COUPLE OF BILLION DOLLARS TO RETRAIN TEACHERS.

NOT CHEAP.

SPEAKING OF MONEY, THIS DISTRICT SPENDS $350,000 A YEAR ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

Woman: THAT'S ONE WAY TO DO IT.

School Sleuth: TEACHERS IN LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA, GET TOGETHER REGULARLY FOR TRAINING.

THEY ALSO HAVE THREE COACHES STANDING BY TO HELP.

Woman: I LOVE THAT IDEA.

Thordarson: 'CAUSE THEN YOU COULD... School Sleuth: KAMI THORDARSON IS ONE OF THEM.

SHE TOLD ME THE TRICK -- FIND THE EARLY ADOPTERS.

Thordarson: THEY'RE THOSE PEOPLE ON THEIR CAMPUSES, THOSE TEACHERS WHO ARE JUST HUNGRY FOR A CHANCE TO DO THESE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES.

Woman: UNDERSTAND?

SO YOUR CHOICE.

Thordarson: THEY'RE YOUR BARRIER-BREAKERS, AND IDENTIFYING THOSE TEACHERS AND LETTING THEM BE THOSE LEADERS AND THEN HELPING THEM SUPPORT OTHER STAFF MEMBERS ALONG THE WAY.

Man: LET'S CHECK THIS OUT, 'CAUSE... School Sleuth: THAT SOUNDED A LOT LIKE SHAWN STORM.

Storm: I CONNECT WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE ON TWITTER -- TEACHERS, EDUCATORS, PRINCIPALS, ADMINISTRATORS -- WHO JUST CHALLENGED THE THINKING BEHIND TEACHING.

HERE'S WHAT I USED FOR... School Sleuth: THEN, HE TAKES WHAT HE'S LEARNED BACK TO HIS TEAM, INCLUDING HIS NEIGHBOR DOWN THE HALL, BARBARA KIRBY.

Kirby: AND WHAT IS THAT QUESTION?

I AM SEEING SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES NOW, AND WHAT IS SO MUCH FUN IS TO WORK WITH THESE GUYS AND HAVE THEM SHOW ME.

"TRY THIS.

TRY THAT."

WE'RE MOVING ALONG NOW.

I FEEL MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT IT.

I DO.

-THERE YOU GO.

– Young woman: WOW.

Kirby: WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Bartender: SO, THIS IS NOT GONNA BE A WALK IN THE PARK, SLEUTH.

IT'S GONNA TAKE MONEY.

School Sleuth: AND GOOD LEADERSHIP.

Bartender: AND TIME -- A LOT OF TIME.

School Sleuth: TIME THEY'VE GOT.

Bartender: THEY DO?

School Sleuth: UNFORTUNATELY, THEY DO.

MOST SCHOOLS ARE NOT READY.

Bartender: OH, NO.

School Sleuth: HERE'S THE BIG SHOCKER -- MOST BARS, DELIS, DRY CLEANERS -- THEY'VE ALL GONE HIGH-TECH.

BUT SCHOOLS -- FOUR OUT OF FIVE STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AT SCHOOL.

Bartender: WOW!

School Sleuth: I DID SOME DIGGING.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS EVERYWHERE ARE SCRAMBLING, TRYING TO KEEP UP, LIKE THESE GUYS IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

Brakeman: SO, THIS CABLE HERE, PROBABLY HALF A DOZEN STUDENTS COULD BE WATCHING A VIDEO AT ANY ONE TIME OFF OF THE INTERNET.

School Sleuth: MOST SCHOOLS HAVE LOW-TECH CABLES LIKE THAT, AND, BELIEVE ME, IT SHOWS.

Woman: HOW MANY OF YOU ARE NOW WHERE YOU NEED TO BE?

YOU'RE AT RENAISSANCE PLACE OR GETTING READY TO TAKE IT?

OKAY, SO, I'VE GOT TWO?

THAT'S IT?

WHAT'S GOING ON?

Brakeman: ONCE WE SWITCH OVER TO THE FIBER, NOW IT COULD BE 1,000 STUDENTS OR MORE AND AT SOME POINT IN TIME IN THE FUTURE EVEN DOUBLE OR TRIPLE OR QUADRUPLE THAT AMOUNT.

School Sleuth: BAKERSFIELD IS PRETTY MUCH STARTING FROM SCRATCH.

Cox: WE ARE GOING THROUGH A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES, ADDING WIRELESS DEVICES IN EACH CLASSROOM, UPGRADING WHAT IS OUR BANDWIDTH, MODERNIZING THE BUILDINGS IN CONSTRUCTION, BOTH STRUCTURAL, MECHANICAL, AND ELECTRICAL.

Brakeman: WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT'S AT THE RIGHT TIME.

Cox: IT'S TAKEN BASICALLY TWO YEARS OF PLANNING AND ABOUT HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN THIS PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION.

School Sleuth: AND THIS IS JUST PHASE ONE.

Cox: ...THE LAPTOP TABLES, RIGHT?

Brakeman: RIGHT.

Cox: THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE FUNDING, AND NOT JUST FUNDING TO ACTUALLY PUT IT IN PLACE IN YEAR ONE, BUT TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN IT IN YEAR TWO, THREE, AND BEYOND, BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY REALLY HAS A LIFE-SPAN OF ABOUT THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS MAX.

AND SO, WHEN IT TAKES TWO TO THREE YEARS TO UPGRADE, IT MEANS THAT YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE TWO TO THREE TO FIVE YEARS BEHIND.

Bartender: SO, WHO'S GONNA PAY FOR THAT?

School Sleuth: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS PROMISED TO PUT UP ABOUT $4 BILLION A YEAR, BUT THAT'S JUST FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET.

-SCHOOLS ARE GONNA NEED MORE.

– Bartender: HOW MUCH MORE?

School Sleuth: SOME SAY AS MUCH AS $20 BILLION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

Bartender: [ WHISTLES ] SLEUTH, THAT'S A TON OF MONEY.

School Sleuth: WELL, THINK OF IT THIS WAY.

IT'S ONLY A COUPLE HUNDRED BUCKS PER KID.

I SPEND AT LEAST THAT MUCH TAKING CARE OF MY DOG.

Bartender: YEAH, MAYBE SO, BUT YOU TOLD ME THAT TEACHERS AREN'T TRAINED AND SCHOOLS AREN'T WIRED.

I GOT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, SLEUTH -- I'M NOT SEEING THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL.

School Sleuth: OKAY, OKAY, IT'S HARD.

ONE MORE STORY.

LIFE IN THE FIELDS IS HARD.

CALIFORNIA RIOS' MOTHER SPENDS HER DAYS WORKING IN THEM.

DAD DRIVES A TRUCK, SOMETIMES ON THE ROAD FOR DAYS.

CALIFORNIA RIOS IS THE YOUNGEST OF FIVE AND COULD BE THE FIRST IN HER FAMILY TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL.

California: I JUST WANT TO BE SOMEBODY DIFFERENT IN MY FAMILY AND BE A ROLE MODEL FOR MY YOUNGER NIECES AND NEPHEWS, BECAUSE, I MEAN, THEY DON'T HAVE THAT ROLE MODEL AS OF RIGHT NOW THAT WENT OFF TO COLLEGE, AND THEY DID BETTER FOR THEMSELVES, SO I WANT TO BE THAT ROLE MODEL FOR THEM.

School Sleuth: BUT THE ODDS WERE NOT IN HER FAVOR.

Rooney: WE HAD VERY, VERY LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS FOR DECADES, OKAY?

AND IT BECAME ACCEPTED AS IT'S OKAY, THAT IT'S OKAY TO HAVE A VERY FEW HIGH-ACHIEVING LEARNERS, AND EVERYBODY ELSE IS VERY, VERY LOW-ACHIEVING.

School Sleuth: TOM ROONEY, LINDSAY'S SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT, TOLD ME JUST HOW BAD THINGS WERE.

I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Rooney: 9 OUT OF OUR 10 VALEDICTORIANS TOOK REMEDIAL COURSES WHEN THEY GOT TO COLLEGE.

9 OUT OF THE 10 OF THE SMARTEST KIDS IN THIS TOWN, THE SMARTEST KIDS IN OUR DISTRICT, THE VERY BEST WE HAD, WENT TO COLLEGE, AND THEY WEREN'T READY FOR COLLEGE.

School Sleuth: SO IN 2009, THEY WENT ALL-IN, CHANGED EVERYTHING.

Rooney: WE'VE DISMANTLED OUR GRADING SYSTEM.

WE'VE DISMANTLED HOW WE GROUP KIDS.

WE DISMANTLED HOW A LEARNER PROGRESSES THROUGH THE SYSTEM, HOW THEY ACCESS INFORMATION ONLY THROUGH A TEXTBOOK OR ONLY THROUGH THE TEACHER, AND WE'VE REPLACED IT WITH ONE THAT IS -- WITH A SYSTEM THAT IS TRULY LEARNER-CENTERED.

Skinner: WHAT ARE YOU INTERESTED IN DOING AFTER SCHOOL?

– Young man: ELECTRONICS.

– Skinner: ELECTRONICS.

SO YOU COULD LOOK AT SOMEONE IN THE FIELD OF ELECTRONICS.

School Sleuth: THE IDEA WAS FOR KIDS TO FOLLOW THEIR INTERESTS, HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER WHAT THEY LEARNED, AND USE TECHNOLOGY TO DO IT.

LINDSAY'S SCHOOLS HAD A PLAN -- WIRE CLASSROOMS, TRAIN TEACHERS.

– Man: CONTROL-"C." -School Sleuth: NOW KIDS ARE TAKING CLASSES IN MORE HIGH-TECH STUFF LIKE COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, VIDEO PRODUCTION.

Young man: ON THE BEEP.

[ BEEP ] School Sleuth: AND THEY MOVE AT THEIR OWN PACE.

Gutierrez: SO, WE HAVE THAT GROUP THAT IS MOVING AHEAD AT SIX, A GROUP THAT IS BEGINNING AT THE SIX, AND THEN... Skinner: BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL OF THE LESSONS ONLINE, I CAN MAKE TONS OF INDIVIDUALIZED LESSONS THAT ALL FOCUS ON THE SAME SKILL SET.

THEY CAN CHOOSE WHAT LESSON THEY WANT TO DO AND GO FROM THERE.

Man: AND WHAT ARE YOU GONNA BE DOING WITH THAT NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS OF YOUR LIFE?

WHERE ARE YOU GONNA BE GOING NEXT?

School Sleuth: AND GET THIS -- EVERY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT GOT A LAPTOP.

California: BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL, I WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH TECHNOLOGY.

Young woman: YOUR NAME.

California: A LOT OF IT WAS NEW TO ME.

I MEAN, I DIDN'T HAVE INTERNET AT HOME.

WE DIDN'T HAVE A COMPUTER AT HOME.

I FELT LIKE I WAS BEHIND ALL THE OTHER STUDENTS.

Man: CLOSE OUT OF THAT.

Patrick: THERE'S ABSOLUTELY A DIGITAL DIVIDE WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY, AND THAT'S BASED ON INCOME LEVEL.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO SOLVE THAT IS TO GIVE STUDENTS EXPOSURE TO THE TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL LATER IN LIFE AS PART OF THEIR ACADEMIC PROGRAM.

Gutierrez: ROBERTO, IT'S USUALLY FIRST NAME, DOT, LAST NAME.

I WOULD SAY MORE THAN HALF OF OUR STUDENTS WOULD NOT HAVE A COMPUTER IF THE DISTRICT WOULD NOT PROVIDE IT FOR THEM, AND THAT -- IT'S A REALLY HUGE DEAL.

Skinner: KIDS DON'T KNOW HOW TO SEARCH A WEBSITE.

THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND RELIABLE SOURCES ON THE INTERNET, HOW TO PROPERLY FORMAT A PAPER.

THEN THIS DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN ALL CAPS.

Young man: OKAY.

Skinner: IF WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THESE KIDS CREATIVE AND INNOVATORS, THEY NEED TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING FIRST.

California: MM-HMM.

MM-HMM.

HE'S JUST SAYING THAT EVER SINCE I GOT THE LAPTOP, MY LAST REPORT CARD WAS REALLY VERY WELL.

LIKE, IT WAS IN THE TOP RANKS OF MY CLASS.

SO I WENT FROM AVERAGE TO KIND OF THE TOP OF THE CLASS.

School Sleuth: LOOKS LIKE THE CHANGES WORKED ACROSS THE BOARD.

DROPOUTS AND SUSPENSIONS ARE DOWN ABOUT 40%, AND THE GRADUATION RATE WAS 75%, NOW OVER 90%.

Skinner: WE ARE DEVELOPING BASICALLY AN ENTIRE GRADE OF PEOPLE READY TO PRESENT TO THE WORLD.

THE MORE COMFORTABLE THEY GET WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY, THE MORE THEY KNOW ABOUT IT, THE MORE EMPOWERED THEY FEEL, YOU'RE SETTING THEM UP TO SEE A LARGER WORLD THAN JUST LINDSAY, CALIFORNIA.

Woman: HERE'S CALIFORNIA RIOS.

School Sleuth: BEFORE CALIFORNIA CAN GRADUATE, SHE'S GOT TO CONVINCE A PANEL OF TEACHERS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT THAT SHE'S READY.

California: WELCOME.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

THIS YEAR, I ENROLLED IN A.P.

ENGLISH, AS WELL AS A.P.

SPANISH LANGUAGE.

Rooney: WHAT OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS IN THE SYSTEM IS TO TEACH THEM THOSE LIFE SKILLS TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY SO THAT YOU CAN BE MORE SUCCESSFUL AND HAVE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES.

California: THE IMAGE THAT I CHOSE TO REPRESENT ME WAS THIS HANDPRINT, BECAUSE I WANT TO LEAVE A MARK, WHETHER THAT'S IN MY FAMILY, IN SOCIETY, IN MY CAREER, OR JUST IN LIFE.

School Sleuth: CALIFORNIA RIOS GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN 2014 AND HEADED OFF TO SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY.

Bartender: [ SIGHS ] CASE CLOSED, SLEUTH.

SO, THE PROBLEM ISN'T TECHNOLOGY.

IT'S HOW SCHOOLS USE IT.

School Sleuth: YOU GOT THAT EXACTLY RIGHT.

-IT'S ON US.

– Bartender: OH, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SAY NEXT, RIGHT?

YOU'RE GONNA INVOKE YOUR GOLDEN RULE NOW, AREN'T YOU?

School Sleuth: I CAN'T HELP MYSELF.

WHATEVER WE WANT FOR OUR KIDS, WE GOT TO DO THAT FOR ALL KIDS.

Charlie: PARDON ME FOR INTERRUPTING, SLEUTH, BUT THAT'S A GREAT STORY.

School Sleuth: THANKS VERY MUCH.

YOU KNOW, IT'S FRUSTRATING.

I WISH SOME REPORTER WOULD GET AHOLD OF THIS STORY AND TELL THE WHOLE WORLD ABOUT IT.

YOU GUYS HAPPEN TO KNOW ANY REPORTERS?

Brokaw: WELL, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT, SLEUTH, YOU'RE HANGING OUT IN BARS.

SO, THAT'S WHERE REPORTERS HANG OUT.

BETWEEN THE TWO OF US, WE PROBABLY KNOW A COUPLE.

Charlie: I'LL ASK AROUND.

School Sleuth: I'D REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

-THANKS A LOT, FELLAS.

– Charlie: OKAY.

Bartender: NEVER MIND.

Singer: I'VE BEEN SEARCHING AS THE NIGHTS GROW LONGER FOR THE ONE WHO WILL PERSEVERE AND STEP IN, STEP UP BUT DON'T YOU KNOW IT?

Brokaw: AND YOU'RE A SLEUTH, AND YOU DON'T KNOW ANY REPORTERS.

Bartender: HE DOESN'T GET OUT MUCH.

School Sleuth: I DON'T GET OUT MUCH.

Singer: THE VOICE GROWS STRONGER SUDDENLY... -Man: FANTASTIC.

-Dr. Ruth: AND THAT'S A WRAP.

Singer: AND THAT'S IT THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME FOLLOWING THE MONEY, SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG I'VE SEEN TROUBLE ALL ALONG BIG BUSINESS AND NEW IDEALS IT'S HIS BUSINESS TO KNOW WHAT'S REAL AND I'M STILL SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT GROWS STRONGER BUT THE QUESTIONS WILL LINGER ON IT'S A WONDERFUL FEELING TO BE ON THE CASE A WONDERFUL FEELING TO WORK WITH AN ACE WHO KNOWS THAT THERE'S A STORY IN MY SONG SO LONG Bartender: CHEERS.

WELCOME BACK.