|
 Superintendent's
Message
The Superintendent Defines South Fayette's
Progress
“What
is a ‘Classroom for the Future?”
South Fayette High
School is the proud recipient of a “Classrooms For the Future”
Grant offered through the
Pennsylvania Department of Education. South Fayette High School
will be receiving over $204,000 in funding to equip five (5)
high school classrooms with specified technologies, including a
laptop computer for every student in the classroom. The faculty
members in those classrooms will be involved in required
intensified professional development that includes 30 hours of
online training as well as additional face-to-face workshops as
they learn new ways to use technology as a tool to enhance
student engagement and learning in our classrooms. As a
requirement of the grant, South Fayette High School is required
to contract for technology integration coaching services so that
faculty may utilize the services of an individual to assist with
new ideas, offer suggestions and assess technology
effectiveness.
The South Fayette
High School staff has embraced the opportunity that was
presented by the grant. Although we did not receive the 17
equipped classrooms as applied for in our grant proposal, we are
very pleased to begin this journey of technology integration in
the classrooms of Mr. David Taylor, Mr. Robert Reasey, Mrs.
Meghan Vietmeier and Mr. James Hausman. This will permit all of
our ninth grade students, in some way, to experience some of the
21st century classroom technologies and strategies afforded to
us in our “Classrooms for the Future.”
During this school
year, the school district will develop a new plan/vision for
Technology as a component of the strategic planning/visioning
process. As the world changes, how we deliver education to k—12
students along with the resources we need to do so, also
changes. We are looking for interested community members who
have an interest and desire to assess the world outside of South
Fayette, locally and globally to help us establish our direction
for the future. Community members interested in contributing
their time should contact our Director of Technology, Mr. Bryan
O’Black at boblack@southfayette.org.
Our technological
journey in South Fayette has been extremely positive to date.
Our staff has embraced new learning and delivering instruction
in new ways. But by the following quotes, we must realize the
importance of keeping an open mind and being willing to consider
new ideas for our rapidly changing world. Anything is possible.
“Computers in the
future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” --
Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science,
1949
“I think there is
a world market for maybe five computers.” --
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
“But what ... is
it good for?” -- Engineer
at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,
commenting on the microchip
“There is no
reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” --
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment
Corp.,1977
“This ‘telephone’
has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means
of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
-- Western Union internal
memo, 1876
“The wireless
music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for
a message sent to nobody in particular?” --
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for
investment in the radio in the 1920s
“Who wants to
hear actors talk?” -- H.M.
Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927
“We don’t like
their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” --
Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962
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Game
Night Traditions
