Local schools keep up with technology through new program
The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. There are more than 200 million registered users on MySpace. If the social networking Web site were a country, it would be the fifth largest in the world. Half of what students in a four-year technology degree program learn in their first year will be outdated by their third year of study.
Those are some of the facts that define the digital age, according to a presentation recently given at Uniontown Area High School, where local dignitaries gathered to officially “Flip the Switch” to mark the start of the school’s technology program.
The school is trying to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and made a leap toward that goal with the recent installation of more than 200 laptops as well as interactive whiteboards and projectors.
The equipment was purchased thanks to a $188,223 Classrooms for the Future (CFF) grant provided through the state Department of Education. The school installed the equipment in core subject area classrooms in March.
“Students are used to getting instantaneous access to information and real-time feedback,” said Helen Snaith, CFF coach. “They are used to being in control of the information they take in and put out. …If we don’t learn to engage students as they are on a daily basis outside of school, we will lose them.”
High school science teacher Carla Lowden said students respond to teaching that incorporates the technology, noting it is a natural way for them to learn.
“The computers help,” said Lowden. “I use the computers on a daily basis.”
Spenser Chamberlain and Taylor Stash, 10th-graders who created cell trading cards used for studying in Lowden’s biology class, said the computers help create a better and easier way to learn than to just read the information out of a book.
“I love to use the computers,” said Stash. “We don’t take them for granted. When we use them, we have fun doing it. I don’t realize it’s an assignment. …It’s really an improvement to use them instead of just the book.”
Dr. Charles Machesky, district superintendent, said funding for CFF is at risk. He urged local residents to ask their legislators to restore the program’s funding.
Senate Bill 850, introduced in May, called for CFF, dual enrollment and Science: It’s Elementary program funding to be eliminated as part of the 2009-10 fiscal year budget.
“I believe it’s critical between now and budget time to contact Harrisburg,” Machesky said.
State Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, said he along with local state representatives will work to reverse the proposal, which he said “virtually destroyed” the state’s education system.
“We’ve got to cut when times are tough. I heard that, but I don’t think we can afford to do that in terms of education,” Kasunic said. “We want these types of programs to continue to grow and prosper.
“We need to prepare youngsters for the new world, jobs that don’t exist,” he added. “If we fail, we will lose a generation of youngsters. …This is a worldwide economy and if youngsters are not prepared, we will fail and our quality of life will not be what it is.”
Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink said CFF, which has been proven to work and has received good feedback, should continue to be funded.
The program “changes the old format of teaching” from a student being a passive listener to an active participant, and “that is the best form of learning in my opinion,” she said.
Principal Thomas Colebank said the high school’s students are “highly engaged with the technology in the classroom.
“You see the lightbulb go off with students,” said Colebank, noting that students are not just “surfing the Web,” but are doing projects, many of which were on display at the event.
Todd Hamel, the district’s technology coordinator, said the high school received about 30 to 40 percent of the funding it was eligible for in 2008. He said school officials plan to pursue funding for another 16 labs, which Hamel said the school “can use.
“CFF gives us the opportunity to go to a higher level, where we’re analyzing and creating,” Hamel said. “This building really has been a great technology user for two years. …We want our students to compete, and technology is the way to do that.”
Albert Gallatin Area and Laurel Highlands high schools also recently held similar events showcasing projects students created by using the technology.