Classrooms for the Future

State College was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the governor's "Classrooms for the Future" grant that supplied 569 laptops to the classrooms of 46 English and Social Studies teachers at the high school this past school year. Hopefully, the next year will see the initiative extended into math and science classrooms, as well.

At Monday night's presentation to the board, both students and teachers spoke to the value of collaborative tools such as Google.docs, and the impact on writing skills. It used to be that one or two edits of a writing assignment were about the limit of what teachers could expect. Technology, however, has created an "anytime" paradigm, with the result that student collaboration and multiple drafts have become the norm, and students can add to their learning by editing one another's work. (A lot of teachers are also discovering that student blogs are an excellent way to encourage writing.)

Discussions that in the past would have occurred only in the classroom – where often, only about a third of the class participates consistently - can now also occur on-line, where participation often reaches 90%. 

Access to technology is also expanding the definition of "literacy": to be literate in today's society means being able to "read" a movie or a website, as well as the newspaper. (What's that?)

A terrific example of a service learning project that was enhanced by access to technology was Deb Poveromo’s "Local Sites of Memory" assignment, for which her students researched a local historical site to learn its significance - as well as determine the extent to which the "story" is accurate. As the students described it, technology greatly enhances the ease and potential depth of their research.

Another example of technology’s impact on research was a project that asked students to examine African history from the African perspective (rather than from the European point-of-view, as it’s traditionally taught.) In the past, such an assignment would have been extraordinarily time-consuming.

As you well know from experience, such assignments typically conclude with a "report" that makes use of the traditional communication skills of writing (and occasionally, speaking) - but students are beginning to ask themselves: "what is the most effective way to communicate my message?" The answer often involves the creative use of iMovie, Powerpoint and music. In the process, we incorporate another important 21st century emphasis: the integration of the arts into the curriculum - while we demonstrate the principal that there are multiple ways for students to exhibit their learning.

With tight schedules and departments stretched across two buildings, opportunities for collaboration are often hard to come by, so the professional development that was provided as part of this initiative was essential. Particularly noteworthy was the enthusiasm that was generated among the faculty by the opportunities that technology provides for collaboration both within and across departments.