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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
If you just look around, it’s becoming increasingly clear that most American teens have some form of computer or cellphone.
Today, more and more schools across New Jersey are encouraging students to bring their electronics into the classroom to enhance their learning experience.
Cinnaminson High School began using a “Bring Your Own Technology” program in the beginning of 2013. Superintendent Salvatore Illuzzi noted an obvious advantage to the program.
“It allows the district to use technology to enhance classroom learning, without the district having to spend a dime,” he said, according to Cinnaminson Patch. “If we were purchasing the technology, the cost would be prohibitive."
Business technology teacher Kathleen Hennelly adds that the technology deepens the options for learning. According to Cinnaminson Patch, she said through technology the district has been able to create musical compositions with Apple’s Garage Band, help them create websites, and have podcasts of lessons for students who had been absent from class on a given day.
Richard Bozza of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators pointed out that costs of technology are falling, according to an Asbury Park Press report in USA Today. That would enable districts and poorer families to have access to electronics, he said.
Also, schools abide by a particular program to use the technology, and it is used strictly for learning. The Rumson School District web site explains that the schools require signed permission forms to make sure that students, faculty and parents know correct procedures for using the devices in the classroom.
And have you seen the weight of today’s textbooks, not to mention their prices? Fourteen-year old Manalapan High School student Britney Lew will carry a lighter backpack this year due to her Samsung Galaxy tablet replacing some textbooks.
"You can read books on it and use the Internet to research," said Lew, according to the USA Today story. "We can exchange emails, and teachers can email us lessons."
