By Christina Peitler
Mineola High School has taken many steps to upgrade and modernize by substituting paper with technology. By giving the entire district iPads, it has changed the school’s curriculum and how students learn. iPads aren’t the only new addition. The district has been hard at work with renovations. The high school has gotten a new turf field, redecorated the band/orchestra rooms and new classrooms are made specifically for technology. These classes have tables (instead of desks), outlets and couches. Perhaps the biggest update of all is the new technology room. The school has added a new class to the curriculum and four brand new machines that give students a chance to create things they have never done before.
New York state requires either seventh or eighth graders to take a technology class. With the eighth graders in the high school and the available technology they have, students will take a class that upperclassmen have never experienced. The class has students develop their design thinking, something never before done in the high school. One of the technology teachers, Mr. Coy, spoke about what the new class has available. Four new machines have been added to the technology room. First is a plasma printer that cuts and engraves into wood or acrylic. Second is the plasma cutter that cuts through metal. Another machine is the vinyl cutter/printer. An example of uses for this machine is to make a graphic on vinyl cut to an exact shape. You could make T-shirts and signs with this machine. The last addition is CNC or computer numerical control. This lets people engrave into wood and metal.
“It enables us in designing a component rather than produce the component,” Mr. Coy said while talking about the several new machines added.
Students now have tools to bring creativity to reality. First they must put their creative ideas into two programs, none of which are available for the iPad. Instead, students have 15 Apple laptops and 15 PC laptops available for use. Adobe Illustrator, one of the programs used, allows students to use design thinking. This design thinking is pushing the school towards new and bolder directions. iPads are used for creative purposes, research and submitting assignments. Dr. Whittney Smith, principal at Mineola High School, expressed the purpose and benefits of the class. “It will help students develop problem solving skills and then be able to use state of the art equipment,” he said.
Students in the high school expressed their thoughts on the new technology room and the class. Tanya Chuachingco, a 10th grader who is also in Robotics, expressed her thoughts on iPads and how it affects her learning. “It has enhanced my learning experience by allowing us to perform more advanced assignments without the use of multiple notebooks,” she said. Deborah Desantoes, an eighth grader said, “I like the class. Right now we are doing a video about different ages and steps in technology, [I] can’t wait to use the new machines”.
The new technology room is a step towards a new and improved school for Mineola students. It’s already spreading from the eighth graders. Students in wood shop from every grade are using these machines in their projects. “These machines allow us to make projects that don’t look homemade; they look like they came off the shelf,” Coy said, pointing out the quality of the projects. Design thinking is a huge part of what they are teaching in technology. The hope is that the high school can prepare students for the changing world around them and the technology it brings.
—Christina Peitler is a student at Mineola High School
