Embracing Technology
March 3, 2010
I like new technology. On any given day, you might find me updating Twitter from my phone while surfing Facebook on the Internet and browsing the iTunes App Store for some games for my iPod Touch. (Never at school, of course.) I've heard that's one of the greatest things about my generation – how well we adapt to this new technology. However, the generation directly above mine isn't exactly known for that. And seeing how many of the teachers at Xavier fit into that category, you might expect for them to be running away from technological change as fast as they can. That's simply not the case. Xavier has chosen to embrace the wave of new technologies, and as a student, it makes my life a whole lot easier.
Many teachers, including Mrs. Dircks, Mr. Goldsmith, Dr. Drey, and Mrs. Flores, utilize Powerpoint presentations to help teach various lessons. Classrooms are equipped with projectors built into the ceilings, hooked up to their computer, so their presentations can be shown on a screen for the entire class. Almost every class will use one of the four computer labs at some time during a semester. Each lab is fully Internet-equipped, and many computers have had their CRT monitors (the deep, bulky kind) replaced with LCD versions (flat screen).
For the first time this year, some classrooms have been given Promethean Boards. These things are incredible! Mr. Schaub and Ms. Monaghan each have one, in addition to one in the math & science computer lab. They are similar to digital whiteboards. They can be written on with a digital “marker” (which can change color with the click of a button), can be printed off to be viewed on paper, and can combine typed elements with handwritten ones. These are definitely the way of the future, and I'm just jealous that I missed out on having more of these. Plans are in the works to hopefully add more in the future.
I recently turned a paper in for Mr. Goldsmith's AP US Government & Politics class. (It was about the American Medical Association's influence on health care reform in Congress.) I wrote it on my computer at home, got out my flash drive, saved the document, and brought the flash drive to school. When I got to Xavier, I went to the LMC, plugged in the flash drive, and saved the paper to what is called the “U” drive. Then I was done! No paper or printing to worry about. Later in class, we wrote our e-mail addresses down for him, and he told us he would read our papers on his computer, write electronic comments on them, and e-mail us the graded version with his comments. The paper-writing, -grading, and -scoring process is completed without a single sheet of paper being used! I hope more teachers embrace this process. I know the members of the Xavier Green Club were very much in support of Mr. Goldsmith's way of doing things.
New technologies are coming every day – there's no way around it. While some choose to close themselves off and stick to the way they've always done things, I'm glad that Xavier has jumped on board with this wave of change and are improving technology at school every day. These changes are affecting me as a senior, but will have such a profound affect on the way the students of the future do things. I can't wait to see what happens.
Want more? Read Spencer's past entries:
- Meet Xavier Senior, Spencer Hughes!
- A Day In the Life of Spencer Hughes (X10)!
- Spirituality at Xavier High School
- Extra-Curricular Activities Make Xavier a Stand-Out!
- A Video Presentation by Spencer Hughes
- You Can't Have a Great School Without a Great Faculty
- What Makes Xavier...Xavier?
- Visioning
- Prom - Asking a Date Requires Creativity!
- Xavier High School, Pancheros, and Life Lessons
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