Volume 50, Issue 2 - Carmel Catholic High School

From the Principal’s Desk…
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
- Winston Churchill
Memories keep us in touch with what used to be and more aware of all that has changed. I smile
as I remember purple ink on my hands from the ditto machine, using carbon paper when typing a
test, coloring in bubbles when readying student report cards, communicating with parents without
the advantage of e-mail, placing attendance slips in the door for someone to collect by hand, having
to write all lessons and exercises on the blackboard and the list goes on. I am grateful that we have
moved beyond these patterns and have upgraded as a result of technology, a reality that is manifested
throughout education.
Carmel Catholic has become a leader in this evolution. Our most recent example is the 1:1 Computing Program. With the
advent of this program a number of parents have commented on their excitement, while others have shared their concerns.
Some believe that the ways of old are the better ways. I was around in those days, and I can tell you with great confidence that
“to improve is to change”. Change is needed in order to educate for the twenty first century. The emphasis on development
of higher order thinking skills, in a setting that allows for investigation and discovery, suits this generation and is essential to
preparing students for their future. Technology allows us to move beyond the limited experience of the traditional classroom,
a teacher-centered room filled with students taking copious notes in preparation for the test to follow. Technology integration
is essential to expanding learning beyond the limitations of this image. A faculty member summed it up best in her comment
that “educational technology is comparable to the industrial revolution when it comes to the impact on school”. It is clear that
the rules have changed. Technology and technology empowered students are here to stay.
Connecting to the adolescent affinity for technology is a proven strategy for engagement, involving students more actively in
the process of learning. High level learning requires students to think critically, apply knowledge to new situations, analyze
information, comprehend new ideas, communicate, collaborate, solve problems and make decisions. In support of this need,
technology based assessments allow for immediate feedback. Students can test scientific theories with simulations, find ways
to prove ideas with multimedia presentations, collect data with hands-on experiments. The internet can be used to experience
the world through virtual field trips, and research. Immediate access to information and communication technologies is
necessary to accomplish what today’s education demands. This insight is supported by the International Society for Technology
Standards (ISTE): “To live, learn, and work successfully in an increasingly complex and information-rich society, students must
be able to use technology effectively.”
Along with these achievements have come some challenges. Instead of broken pencils, pens that run out of ink, and computer
labs not available for use, we are experiencing some time lags with new software and formatting problems. Keeping an eye
out for notes passed or students sharing test questions over the lunch table has been replaced by watching for the use of “kik”
an instant messaging tool which facilitates communication from computer to computer. Students with a habit of staring out the
window are now staring at the games on their tablet. To quote the wisdom of the past one more time “he who lives must be
prepared for changes”. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) And so we are learning as we go to address the challenges while taking
advantage of the vast array of possibilities that the 1:1 Program provides.
Everything happens one step at a time; this is also true of the implementation of our 1:1 Program. In spite of some tripping
along the way, we have taken multiple steps in the right direction. One has only to walk the halls of Carmel during these first
few months of the school year to see that great things are happening as a direct result of the integration of technology into the
learning experience. In addition to the use of the tablets for note taking and traditional research, the 1:1 Program has allowed
the use of technology for collaborative work as well as expanded learning. Examples can be seen in a variety of places:
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q The Psychology class collaborated in small groups, each developing an online survey to support the study of
adolescent stress. Surveys were distributed electronically to students throughout the school, results tabulated
electronically and shared in order to measure against textbook statistics. From this, students supported their
observations with real time data.
q An English class submitted papers electronically through Edmoto, allowing the teacher the benefits of a writing lab with
the ability to communicate digital changes in real time - all of this without bothering a tree. Students are also using
Google Docs for group editing.
q Business classes have immediate access to company financial statements, corporate code of ethics and the stock market
for application in class.
q Blogs provide a level of collaboration in some religion and social studies classrooms enabling online discussions and
responses to outside readings, primary sources, political speeches.