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Foreign journalists visit high-tech high schools

Journalists compare public school to best private schools in other countries.
Written by ZDNET Editors, Contributor
Foreign journalists descended upon Noblesville High School in Indiana recently to see how technology is implemented in pre-college education in the U.S., reports the Noblesville Daily Times. The journalists were attending the the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair this week and were very impressed by the high school program.
“(NHS compares to) the best private school in Brazil,” said Canal Futura TV station reporter Tatiana Azevedo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “It's hard to see one public school with any technology at all; usually they'll have one computer,” she said.

Kai Li of China compared NHS to being on the same level as some of the better private and parochial schools.

Noblesville High School has approximately 800 computers in the school with a 3:1 student-to-computer ratio. Every staff member has either a desktop or laptop computer. The school has fiber-optic and TI LAN lines and in some spaces wireless internet access. The school has 17 computer labs and a TV news/announcement distribution system throughout the building.

As the journalists toured the school, students talked about how the technology integrated into their curriculum and demonstrated the technology. In the Physics lab, a student explained how computer applications better explain Newton's three laws and the physics of sound. In the music room, students showed how they record music on Garage Band software.

“The greatest thing here is the opportunity they give the students to be in contact with experiences,” Azevedo said. “It's a good condition for students to be taught in fields they like,” Kai said. While the technology is important, Azevedo feels that it is not essential. “I think the technology is good, but the opportunities are best,” she said.
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