Is Elder up to date with technology?

The+Lenovo+X201+Tablet+PC%2C+which+was+given+to+the+Class+of+2014.

The Lenovo X201 Tablet PC, which was given to the Class of 2014.

As a teenager these days, you may think everyone uses the internet on an everyday basis. Recent research will tell you otherwise.

A news survey done this past spring showed there are quite a few adults not using internet. About 2,250 adults were interviewed by phone calls. Studies done in previous years revealed that American’s who are less educated are much more likely to not be online, due to not caring or taking the time to learn about the new technology. Those who live in rural areas are also more likely to not use the internet, as well as Hispanics.

Education was the biggest factor in the results that were gathered. Forty-one percent of Americans who did not receive a high school diploma said they do not use the internet, along with 4% of those who received a college degree.

Elder High School has been becoming technologically advanced more and more each year. The class of 2014 was the first class at Elder to have the Tablet PCs, which are now given out to every new entering freshman class. With technology, however, there will always be problems. Many Elder students have found problems with their tablets and become frustrated with the computers.

Elder senior lacrosse player Frank Telles, who calls himself “Frank the Tank”, made a few comments on Elder’s Tablet PCs.

“I’m not a big fan of them. They worked fine the first two years, but now they have been just causing problems,” Telles said.

He described these problems as “extremely aggravating.” Telles is a guy who just does not care about anything, and when it comes to these tablets you can tell. “I have thrown my tablet multiple times when it hasn’t worked properly,” he said.

Telles is just one of quite a few students that I have heard complain about his tablet. One of the problems that is continuing to show up is the wireless not working on these devices. There have been a lot of problems with my tablet’s wireless internet as well.

However, there are a few teachers here at Elder who have gone paperless in the classroom, taking advantage of the technology here at Elder. Mr. Warren, in the Religion department, is one teacher who uses the internet and computers for everything in his class. Whether it’s the homework’s, or tests and quizzes, Mr. Warren had them all done via Blackboard. If you are a student who is technologically advanced, this could be one of your favorite classes.

I had a chance to talk to Mr. Tierney, another Religion teacher here at Elder. Mr. Tierney says he uses the internet on an everyday basis for things like Email, news, information, Volleyball, and social networking. He has been tempted to make his classes “paperless,” as Mr. Warren has done.

“Mr. Warren is obviously a whole lot more technologically advanced than me,” Mr. Tierney said. He also said that is not shocking to him that 15% of adults still don’t use the internet. “In fact, I am mildly surprised that it’s not higher.”

As the world continues to become more technologically advanced, Elder High School looks to continue to keep up with the changes in technology. From what I have learned, we definitely have  the capability to be a good technological school, especially with the computer teachers we have.