Technology at Central: Then to now

The Central York High School first opened its doors in 1954. Since then, we have seen a lot of changes in our learning process. Many of Central’s teachers have been around to see the changes we have gone through throughout these years.

The biggest contrast in our school is the way we learn. The 21st century is the new age of technology and we’re seeing it brought into our curriculum more and more every year. Central has always been big on using tech in the classroom. Although, it has not always been this way. Monica Padgett, a global and American studies teacher, explains what differences our school has seen in the seven years she has been a part of the staff.

“When I first started, we had a handful of computer carts that we all had to share between classrooms, but my classroom was mostly paper,” Padgett said.

Padgett’s classroom is the only one in our school to use a virtual reality headset in class. She recently raised money for an Oculus Go, the most popular VR headset on the market in 2018. Padgett says she uses this technology to open a new way of learning. The Oculus can provide students with virtual reality tours of landmarks and monuments around the world, such as the Taj Mahal.

“I do think that technology is essential in the classroom; it's completely irreplaceable. Everything is so much more accessible. With the use of technology, the teacher is no longer the only resource and there is a lot more content to be reached.” she said. Padgett said that she believes that the use of technology will provide more opportunities for students. She also believes that in the years to come, there will be even more of an increase of technology use.

“I think over the next couple of years we’re going to have the option to not be in the classroom for class, and things like video conferencing are going to be more accessible to teachers. I do think that we will move more towards a creative curriculum where students can create more,” she said.

Another way that we see technological advances in our school is with the 3D printers in the Hub. We have three 3D printers that any student can pay to use. Mrs. Bieber provides tech support in the Hub. She helps students with using the 3D printers and looks over their projects. Right now there is a new printer being assembled in the Hub that can print food! There aren’t many projects using to printers in class but you can still create your own products. Just bring in your selected model and test it out on your selected printer.

“We’d like to teach other students to 3D print,” Bieber said. Since the printers are open to anyone, if you’re interested, there is a QR code you can scan on the Hub exit door. When you scan this code you can send your model in to have it printed.

Our school has changed so much over the years to allow students to have more opportunities that fit them best. There is definitely something for everyone at Central and our technology makes this possible. In the years to come, we expect to see many new advances in our school to make an even greater experience for anyone at Central.