WEST SPRINGFIELD — As the framework for the new West Springfield High School (WSHS) begins to take shape, so are the plans for tools and technology that will make it, and the rest of the school system, 21st century learning centers.
School Superintendent Dr. Russell Johnston told Reminder Publications that even before the new high school building is complete, teachers would be able to try out some of its technology and teaching tools in a model classroom to be created in the existing high school.
Designed to incorporate the tech tools available in classrooms at the new WSHS, Johnston said the room would allow teachers to familiarize themselves with the new teaching tools “so we don’t ask teachers to put down the tools they have in the old high school and pick up the tools in the new high school” without training.
Johnston said he would be working with the high school’s general contractor, Fontaine Brothers, and local tech firms to create the model classroom, which he hopes teachers can “walk into by the beginning of next year.” Funding for construction of the model classroom was included in the cost of the new high school, he added.
Johnston said in selecting the types of technology students would be using in the high school and other schools, he is focusing on platforms that will help students to improve their writing skills, something he said is emphasized in the new Massachusetts Frameworks for English Language Arts and Literacy.
These new frameworks, he added, are the state’s response to the Common Core State Standards, a nation-wide effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to provide a clear and consistent education framework states can follow to help them better prepare students for college and the workforce.
“I don’t see us going specifically in one direction [with classroom technology],” Johnston said, adding that he expects the high school to incorporate a blend of personal computers (PCs), laptops, netbooks and “some tablets” in classroom teaching.
“I use a tablet myself [and] I find it indispensable. But for learning I want things that allow for more rigorous writing,” Johnston said. “Tablets are more for the end user. Students can write better on a PC [or laptop or netbook].”
He noted that under the new frameworks he expects students to be required to do more “short-term research projects and short-term writing projects,” which “web-based systems like netbooks” and laptops facilitate better than tablets.
Johnston said that, within the next two years, West Springfield would have a total of three schools utilizing wireless technology — the new high school, the Middle School, and, thanks to in increase in E-Rate grant money, Philip G. Coburn Elementary School.
E-Rate funding, he explained, is money that is collected through a “tax we all pay on our phone bill” — the universal service fee — that goes to provide support for technology upgrades to schools and libraries. Administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the fund provides for discounts or reimbursements to communities to upgrade telecommunications in these facilities.
Johnston said West Springfield received an increase in its E-Rate funds due to an increase in the number of students in the system receiving free and reduced lunches. He added that the E-Rate reimbursement for the wireless upgrade at Coburn School has been confirmed to be 90 percent. Though reimbursement has not been confirmed for the Middle School project, he expects it to be 80 percent.
He added he has teams meeting regularly at these schools to determine the best use of technology for each site.
