By Martine Louis
Special to the Reporter

After months of testing the city's first WiFi network, students of the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School on Columbia Rd. demonstrated their findings this week. The students were given the task of mapping out locations stretching from Grove Hall to Dudley Square where they would check for signal strength of the still-wireless network. Mayor Tom Menino and other officials joined the students on Monday morning as they showcased a project that "works to improve students' 21st Century skills."

"This project has given our students unbelievable resources," said Deb Socia, principal of the middle school. "They are learning how to problem-solve and look for solutions - life skills valuable in any situation. I am amazed at the complexity of what they have accomplished during these four short months.

"Our students are very technology savvy and we are providing them with another avenue for learning. This project is a means of communication between teachers, students and parents, which improves the quality of education for our youths."

Using iStumbler, Google Maps, and iMovie, the students led Mayor Menino through their Dorchester streets where they demonstrated the success of the network signals. Back in the classroom, the youths presented their findings before openairboston.net CEO Pam Reeve, City of Boston CIO Bill Oates and representatives from Galaxy Internet Service.

Since late August, adapting the school's "expeditionary learning" approach, computers have been largely integrated into the Frederick's curriculum. For both their math and social justice classes, students have the opportunity to receive increased academic guidance on-line. Teachers have set up home pages where they can be contacted and websites such as mygradebook.com allows students and their families to keep track of their progress.

"I find learning to be a lot easier when you are working with computers," said Tania Guerrero, 14. "We are able to do research, grammar-check our assignments and better communicate with our teachers by email to get help with homework."

Math teacher Jermaine Newman, who worked closely with the students on the project, says this experience has helped them achieve school outcome goals.

"It has encouraged students to progress in class," said Newman. "Many families cannot afford computers at home, therefore this was an opportunity for those students to benefit. It asks our students to be hands-on problem solvers and responds to a legitimate need that exists in our neighborhood."

Fourteen-year-old Crystal Quinones says this has been an exciting experience for her.

"I have never really gotten the chance to work with computers much so everything was pretty new to me. I do feel there has been a difference with my performance. My grades have boosted," Quinones said.