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WGN Features Peace on the Cutting Edge

 WGN Finds "Laptops are a hit."

(left) Beginning their field reporting in Peace's Infinity Lab, a WGN cameraman rolls to capture footage of students using the tech kits installed on their laptops. (right) Reporter Lourdes Duarte sets up a microphone on Peace senior Lenka Durisinova during the news crew’s visit to Peace on Oct. 1. WGN is putting together a news piece on Queen of Peace High School’s 1:1 laptop program, set to air on the nine o’clock news in November. While Peace is a wireless campus, Infinity lab kits require essential wiring elements. 

Burbank, IL – October 3, 2007 – On Oct. 1, Peace students and staff enjoyed a visit from WGN T.V. News reporter Lourdes Duarte, her field producer, Al Romero, and their cameraman. A buzz of excitement filled Peace hallways as WGN crew captured footage of Peace students carrying their laptops from class to class, integrating them into daily classroom work, and learning to repair them in a self maintainer course. Because Peace is the only high school in the area to initiate a 1:1 wireless laptop program for all four grade levels in its first year, WGN will feature Peace in a nine o’clock news piece in November.

Their first stop during the two-and-half-hour visit: Peace’s digital engineering classroom. Once there, Duarte set up microphones and observed students measuring sound frequencies using special laptop software. When she asked senior Nicole Fosco what she thought of the laptop program, Fosco replied: "It’s pretty cool. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it’s been an efficient organizational and note-taking tool. I pay attention more in class, can email my teacher with any questions, and feel overall more prepared for college life."

Duarte also sat down with Peace physics and Infinity teacher Karen Amador, who said laptops have helped make her a better teacher. "I love laptops in the classroom. I can post worksheets and problems, not have to waste paper, and not have to wait in line for computer lab time."

When asked if students seem easily distracted by their laptops during class, Amador responded that she and her fellow teachers must be expert classroom managers – constantly monitoring students, learning how to conduct a dynamic learning environment, and using this new learning tool in ways that keep students engaged. "I’m still teaching. There is still human interaction. If anything, the classroom is more interactive as students collaborate and problem solve more efficiently than ever."

During their tour of the wireless campus, the WGN crew talked with many Peace students. They discovered that students use their laptops during homeroom to work on history papers. Students read English assignments on CD Rom, electronically highlighting and posting notes into literary pieces, the Scarlet Letter, for example.

They popped into Mr. Jose Gamboa’s A+ certification class, where students were learning how to install hard drives into PC towers. They also visited Peace’s Technology Repair Center, a resource for students who have laptop maintenance questions. The WGN News visit concluded with an interview with Peace President/Principal Kathleen Hanlon.

"Our laptop program has changed the model of learning. With unlimited access to information and a differentiated curriculum, we cater to all students’ learning needs, create an energized learning environment, and show students how to think critically and work in groups using 21st-century learning tools," Hanlon stated.

When asked if some were apprehensive about moving to a 1:1 laptop program, Hanlon responded: "Like the widescreen televisions or DVD players families have at home, laptops in the classroom are the latest in educational technology. One-to-one laptop learning is not a fad. It’s needed and here to stay. We are teaching our young women how to use technology ethically and efficiently. We are showing them that women can and should be engaged in the expanding field of technology."

The WGN crew left Peace with a clear sense of where Peace stands and where Peace is heading. "Peace really is at the forefront of high schools who take seriously the integration of technology, math, science and the arts in order to provide the best educational experience for its students," producer Al Romero said.