Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Virtual Classrooms" Reach Reality at SMS
Tappahannock (August 31, 2001) - While no one can predict what the next generation of information technology will bring, students at St. Margaret's School are likely to meet its challenges with confidence. That's because this year, their teachers are making even greater use of computer resources to prepare lessons, provide instruction, encourage communication and offer extra help. They also will be giving students more opportunities for using technology to research, record, produce and present their assignments.
Photo left: SMS Director of Studies and Miller's Tavern resident ViAnn Farmer and math teacher Gayle Hicks review the student research guide they developed with English teacher Tobey Taliaferro of Center Cross and College Counselor Mollie Conklin of Warsaw. The guide encourages students to make full use of electronic resources.
"Our students are entering a world where they will have to deal with very rapid shifts in how they perform even basic tasks," said SMS history teacher and Academic Technology Coordinator George McDowell. "We can't teach them how to use technologies that haven't been invented yet, but we can teach them how to adapt by using what's available today."
At a week-long, on-campus technology institute this summer, teachers and administrators set standards for students' computer proficiency, developed a research guide that encourages girls to use electronic media, increased their own Internet and digital imaging skills, and built a cyber-library that teachers can use to develop technology-based lesson plans and projects. Institute participants trained the rest of the St. Margaret's faculty during teacher orientation last week.
Examples of some of the ways that teachers will further integrate technology into the classroom, McDowell said, include creating opportunities for students to use spreadsheets and databases to collect and process data; communicate about course content outside the classroom using online bulletin boards or discussion groups; and present a research project as either a written report, PowerPoint presentation or web page.
These initiatives will supplement St. Margaret's existing technology program, which encompasses everything from required introductory lessons in common software applications to advanced courses in multimedia, programming and web design. Computing resources are readily available: the fully-wired campus boasts Internet connections in every dorm room and building, two computer labs, two dormitory computer lounges and a computer in each classroom, for a student-to-workstation ratio of less than 3:1.
