Technology
by Kyle McGowan
August 30, 2010
Students are coming to school with significant technological skills. The majority of their sources of information revolves around the internet and is only limited by how they access the internet. It is essentially impossible for schools to be on the cutting edge of providing all of the technological advances currently available to students. The advances move too quickly and the most recent hardware and software tends to initially be relatively expensive.
Crete Schools is starting off the school year with approximately 250 more laptops than it did at this same time last year. All of the buildings are wireless to support this effort. Many more hardware pieces are also available ranging from handheld devices to Smartboard items used for classroom instruction.
The district was awarded a $283,000 grant last year to encourage our technological surge. Four classrooms in the district are enjoying a one-to-one initiative. A classroom in 3rd grade, 8th grade Science, 9th grade English and 10th grade Science all have a laptop available for each student during daily instruction. The teachers in these areas have been and will continue to receive training on how to effectively use the expanded resources for improved instruction.
A goal for the district is to support student learning 24/7. Creating web access for student assignments to review instruction is a part of this goal. Parents are also encouraged to review these resources with their children. All parents should familiarize themselves with the information available on the district’s student management system, Infinite Campus. This is a password protected site and parents should contact their building principal for access information.
Although it may be difficult for schools to always provide cutting edge technology for students, it would behoove us to keep up with the necessary resources for our children to compete in this global economy. A technology concept which will definitely be addressed within our curriculum is “digital citizenship.” Students must be informed of the dangers as well as the responsibility associated with our “real-time world of communication.”
