Do you remember when you needed information for your history assignment only to find all the books on the subject were signed out of the library? For the past 26 years I’ve been working in the ISD166 libraries, and I remember disappointed faces when we didn’t have a book about skidders or St. Bernard dogs or some other student passion. Twenty-six years ago when a student brought in a leaf or bug for identification, if we didn’t have the correct book, it was tough luck. Fast forward to today. Now our students can find information they need through online catalogs, search engines such as Google, online scholarly journals, and magazines.
I have seen firsthand how the past referendum aided students and staff in utilizing new technology in positive creative ways. Students do not stare passively at a computer screen! Software programs are interactive, capturing students’ attention and demanding responses. Students express what they have learned with a wide range of choices, allowing them to be more involved in their learning. With Internet and social media connectivity, students conduct meaningful research, take virtual field trips, and visually chat with authors, scientists, and classrooms, around the world.
Students have had projects such as interviewing local citizens, recording their stories and creating web pages celebrating their lives and connections with historical events. IPads have opened doors for our special education and learning challenged students to communicate, only imagined in the 20th century, but made possible in the 21st. Now in the new industrial arts complex, students have the opportunities to get head starts in post-secondary options, most requiring computer skills.
Look around our community. Motels, restaurants, businesses – all have web presences, available for the world to view. Our clinic and hospital are connected to larger facilities enabling doctors to send digital x-rays and CAT scans to be read by specialists. What once took days now only takes minutes, critical for our remote location. Grandparents chat with grandchildren using Skype or FaceTime. Vehicles, phones, television, reading, higher education—all are impacted by computers.
All of this requires skills taught in a framework emphasizing creative, responsible, and ethical use of technology. Our school district strives to provide these skills to prepare our students for the future.
This is our world today. Technology is neither cheap nor is it going away. If this levy does not pass, we will not be able to maintain or stay current with technology advances in education, thereby negatively affecting our children.
I want our children of Cook County to have the tools they need to thrive in the 21st Century. These children are our citizens of the future who will be the backbone of our community. We need them to have the technical savvy to make Cook County thrive – now and into the 22nd century. Vote YES on the levy.
Shelby Anderson
Librarian-Technology Specialist
ISD 166
Cook County Citizen since 1976
Proud Parent of Three ISD166
K-12 Graduates
Leave a Reply