Databus Issue: 2007 1 01/25/2007
Best Practices: Remember Our Customers
Philip Scrivano Management Analyst
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In January 1994, I was teaching sixthgrade students latitude and longitude using a dial-up 2400 baud modem. Students were using a Gopher search to the U.S. Geological Survey site. Each day, five students would
download the latitude and longitude of the five largest earthquakes in the past 24 hours and mark the locations on the world map in front of the classroom.
The week before the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquakes, students noticed a pattern of earthquakes from the North Pole heading towards Bakersfield by using a yard stick. Each day the excitement grew. You can imagine the energy on Monday morning January 18 at 7:00 am as students rushed to get into the classroom a hour-and-half early to draw the line to Northridge which is directly south of Bakersfield.
That week, we invited a geologist from a local oil company to look at the student hypothesis and data that students used to predict an earthquake in Bakersfield. He validated the student work and said science
had not looked at it this way before.
This taught me the power and impact of technology in the classroom. This happened because of the technology support we now provide to classrooms, teachers, and students. Everyone in IT who helps with any technology function from printing checks, student assessment, configuring a router, and so on, creates a better learning environment for students. Please thank every person who helps with our technology mission. When we are at our best, we are providing a service to the classroom that helps students learn.
Have a great year.
