Edison students hit virtual waves

Andrew Wainer

Edison High School students are becoming Internet savvy through the

school’s $650,000 Digital High School program that began this fall.

The Huntington Beach high school has installed almost 200 new computers

on campus, including two computer labs with 40 computers each. Students

and teachers are enhancing classroom activities through virtual frog

dissections, Internet sites, and lightning-quick word processing.

Edison and Coast high schools are currently the only sites of the program

in the high school district, although several schools are working on

grant applications for the program for next year.

Technology Resource Specialist Greg Brewsaughat says the addition of

computers and the Internet to the school has changed the way students

learn.

“Kids are often more engaged in learning when they are working on a

computer tutorial program than when they are sitting in a classroom,”

Brewsaughat said in one of the school labs. “This program also gets

students ready for the world of work which will demand Internet skills.”

He said almost 75% of students’ time in the lab is spent doing Internet

research and work. The rest is spent on specialized class programs and

word processing.

In teacher Kathy Sullivan’s economics class students access Wall Street,

Deutsche Bank and other economic indicator web sites to help them make

simulated investments in the stock market.

Technology specialists say the program has captured students’ interest.

“There are always students in the computer labs,” Brewsaughat said. “Even

during the lunch and recess periods students come here to do work and

surf the Internet.”

The program is also raising the technological awareness of teachers.

Four technology specialists, who train school staff members, monitor and

maintain the program.

The grant mandates that one-third of the funds be used for staff

training.

The technology specialists in turn undergo continual training to hone

their own skills.

Although some argue the program promotes computer literacy at the cost of

students’ basic skills, Edison Vice Principal Bob Stolte, who helped

write the grant application, said such criticism is unfounded.

“The program does not infringe on the integrity of education content,” he

said. “The computers are just another resource teachers can use to work

with students.”

Student Christian Radulescu summed up the convenience the program

provides while doing research on Emily Dickinson for an English class.

“You might look for a book at the library that has already been checked

out,” he said. “But you can always find it on the Internet.”