The President’s Blog at NCHS

I am Frank M. Orga president of North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh Pa and a member of the class of 1964.  As most of you are aware we are in the planning stages of building a new school in Cranberry township.  Part of that process involves developing a technology plan for the the new building designed to present a curriculum utilizing 21st century web based technology tools.  The committee, chaired by Trudy Van Kirk and Greg Schmitt, has been functioning for some months. One of the committees is advising us regarding leadership responsibilities in this technology transformation.  Allow me to quote from a draft version of the leadership sub-committee chaired by Pam Connolly.

Technology plays an enormous role in the lives of 21st century adults. From cell phones, automobiles, and televisions to eyeglasses air conditioning, and antibiotics. All of us make extensive use of the technologies developed in the last century. The personal computer and the world wide computer network (the internet) are two unique, synergistic, and very significant technologies. Two important measures of technologies are the rate of adoption and the degree of penetration. For example, while it took 70 years for the phone to reach 50% of American households, and 43 years for electricity, it took only 17 years for the personal computer and color television to reach that penetration. (The DVD reached into 50% of American homes in a mere six years.) Consistent data has yet to be compiled, but two new technologies will likely beat the adoption and penetration records held by the DVD. These are the World Wide Web and cell phones as both communication devices and mobile data devices. For the sake of the discussion we call these technologies and their variations (PDAs, laptops,etc.) ubiquitous computing. Ubiquitous computing is a tool that every educator and student should use and understand. It will be increasingly integrated into everyone’s life on a daily basis. It will be used to acquire knowledge that will improve the quality of life from many angles: social networks, leisure activity , and work activity. For the next generation it will play a role in team formation, product design, architectural design, computation, research, communication and a host of other strategies that are still being developed.

This committee feels that the technological leadership at North Catholic High School begins with the administration. The value and importance of integrating and using ubiquitous computing in the academic program must be set forth by the administration in clear terms. The ultimate key to success will be the commitment of the administration intellectually, affectively, and financially. In order to achieve the goal of a technologically infused educational experience, the administration must set the example, support the adoption, and provide the funds.

To this end, I am publishing this blog, not only to model the behavior recommended by our technology committee but also because the concept of blogging has efficacy for 21st century leaders.

Supporters of NCHS have been receiving periodic emails called “Trojan News”.  I will continue to do so but will post all entries in this blog as well as other news I deem important to share.  One advantage to blogging is your opportunity to comment on posts.  I heartily invite you to do so.  Transparency and collaboration are very important to the future of NCHS.

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