Journalism students head towards the Library Media Center’s computer lab to work on their online newspaper. The English classes head to computer labs to work on their research papers. The Media Arts class creates movie trailers with their 21st century equipment. “The future is here, we need to embrace it,” stated Christopher Ward, a teacher at Hawthorne High School, when asked about the rapid increase of technology’s role in education. Today’s education and today’s schools, including HHS, are moving forward with the help of modern technology.
Schools around the world are changing their ways of teaching as technology steps into the sphere of education and HHS is no exception. When asked about the years prior to the high school’s technological evolution, Theresa DiGeronimo, who is currently the Library Media Specialist and has been working at HHS for the past seven years, responded by saying, “It was difficult to do Internet research because there were not enough computers for all the students in the class. Almost always, the computers were broken. And there was no way to project information on the board.” Continuing on the subject of outdated equipment, Ward recalled, “I vividly remember watching the events of 9/11 unfold on a black and white TV,” and that was in 2001! Fortunately, the town of Hawthorne acknowledged the problem of outdated technology, and on September 8, 2010, the residents voted on a $7.6 million referendum to enable schools to update their equipment. Now, HHS has three full computer labs with 96 computers and a working computer in every classroom. This is a huge improvement as seven years ago, according to DiGeronimo, there was one computer lab with perhaps fifteen working computers.
The ways of teaching have also changed at HHS due to the upgrade in technology. “Access to online information allows all teachers to bring the real world into the classroom, and we no longer have to rely solely on textbooks that may be outdated,” states DiGeronimo. “Students have to have computer skills to survive in college and in careers. We can’t ignore this change in our society and technology updates allow us to better prepare our students for life,” she adds.
The rapid and constant pace of change in technology is creating amazing opportunities in education, but there are also challenges for schools. For example, the downside to technology and online resources is that students are going to the Internet for answers to their homework. However, DiGeronimo’s stand on this issue is that “it’s too bad that they are losing an opportunity for learning, but some students will always find a way to cheat themselves out of a good education, so we can’t blame that on technology.”
HHS is not the only school using technology in the classrooms. According to an article written by Angus King, the former governor of Maine, on Pearsonfoundation.com, 63 percent of schools in the U.S. let students use a wide range of digital resources for learning, courseware, and collaboration daily or weekly. Fifty-seven percent of schools report that students are engaged in problem-based real-world learning activities daily or weekly with the help of modern technology, while 55 percent of them state that students are directing their own learning daily or weekly by identifying research topics, resources, and presentation of findings. King adds that, “Teachers become facilitators or coaches who support students in developing understanding through exploration, research, discovery, and collaboration, and they have been doing this through the recent integration of technology.” Instead of using the outdated textbooks and giving lectures, now teachers and students collaborate in a two-way relationship due to the new technological resources. An article on Pearsonfoundation.org, an independent organization that aims to make a difference by promoting literacy, learning, and great teaching, also shows that technology is very relevant in schools today as it is used in every type of class, ranging from Science to English to Music to Art.
Today’s world is changing constantly and technology holds a large place in the evolution. Too much of a good thing might be a bad thing when it comes to things such as chocolate, but when it comes to technology, schools need to embrace the future that is already here.