Volume 96, Number 2
3. Because the best source for Tara Anderson's history paper on Italian immigrants in New Jersey was in New Jersey.
by Kennan Daniel
| When Tara Anderson ’03 walked into the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library to begin work on her History 310 research paper, she was, in a sense, walking into libraries all around the world. Because of the World Wide Web and electronic databases that index the holdings of hundreds of other libraries, she wasn’t limited to the resources present on the Andover campus. |
| With
a professional support staff to guide her in the right direction,
she began her research the old-fashioned way, perusing bound books
from the library’s collection. Then she used the Internet to
pinpoint specifically what she needed—a dissertation on Italian
immigrants to the United States. The book, housed in the New Jersey
State Library, was sent to Andover on an interlibrary loan. “That book,” Anderson says, “was exactly what I was looking for.” Thanks to the ever-increasing use of technology on campus, students at Andover are never more than a mouse-click away from obtaining practically anything they need, be it an answer to a question about yesterday’s English assignment or the latest stock market results from Tokyo. The availability of computers—whether they be the public access terminals on the main floor of the library or the computers in the Educational Research and Development Lab (ERDL)—has grown by leaps and bounds since the start of Campaign Andover. |
| Previously, Andover was lagging behind some other leading preparatory schools when it came to using technology to enhance the school’s academic program. Now, Director of Technology and Telecommunications Valerie Roman says PA is considered an innovative user of technology. |
| Since
1997, the campaign has funded $3 million worth of technology improvements
on campus. Previously, there was nothing in the budget for technology. Consequently,
Andover was lagging behind some other leading prepara-tory schools when it came
to using technology to enhance the school’s academic program. Now, Director
of Technology and Telecommunications Valerie Roman says PA is considered an innovative
user of technology. The technology budget is currently almost $2 million a year, most of which is earmarked for renewal and replacement of technology that already exists on campus. It does not include money for technological improvements. That is where the campaign played such a vital role. The money raised during the campaign has provided for improvements such as Internet access in all dorms and faculty residences; PAnet, the school’s intranet system, complete with course management tools, discussion groups and bulletin boards; a satellite dish for educational programming; safety telephones in all dorm entries; telephones, computers and a public address system in the new Ted Harrison Rink; a sound system in the dance studio; and a redesigned academy Web site. It appears as though technology has permeated every inch of the campus, affecting even those people who seem immune to needing it. Like Shakespeare. For part of the term, students in teacher Maressa Grieco’s English 588 class, Adapting Shakespeare, meet in one of the audiovisual classrooms for a section of the course called Shakespop, which requires students to look for ways in which Shakespeare has influenced popular culture. The class studies popular music, films and television programs, like “The Simpsons,” that adapt or attempt to recreate Shakespearean classics like Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “During most of the course, we focus on Shakespeare’s writing and its influence on other playwrights, but newer media play a significant role when we look at influences in today’s culture,” says Grieco. The campaign also allowed the academy to institute a computer ownership incentive program for teachers that provides grants and interest-free loans. Now, if a coach wants to communicate with a team about a workout, he or she can send out a group e-mail from the comfort of home. Frequent use of e-mail, online discussion groups and bulletin boards have made it possible for faculty and students to build stronger relationships by providing them with means of communication outside the classroom. Commun-ication among faculty members has also improved with the installation of the Student Alert system, which allows adults who are involved with a specific student to share information. (See reason no. 8) “Technology has expanded the classroom so that teaching can take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Roman. |
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| E-mail: Theresa Pease |