Newburyport Daily News, September 30, 2008

Inn Street Montessori dissects a computer

Written By: Lynne Hendricks

Students at Inn Street Montessori had an opportunity to peer into the dark and mysterious confines of a PC tower last week — the opening experiment that will kick off the school's newly launched technology program. According to Technology Coordinator Jennifer Esty, children had trouble containing their excitement, anxious to get a first look at the innards of the equipment that's keeping us connected in the 21st century.

For lower and upper elementary students (aged 6 to 12 years old) Inn Street plans this year to offer an opportunity for collaboration on a variety of technology projects, including the creation of audio and video recordings, exploring podcasts, multimedia presentations and learning to understand the difference between a hard drive and a USB flash drive. The study takes place in the school's brand-new technology laboratory, outfitted with iMAC workstations.

Esty feels the lessons will provide students the freedom to explore and learn how technology fuels the way we live.

"The most prominent technology application found in the home today is the personal computer," said Esty. "By dissecting the computer, students find technology demystified and even fun."

The project computer was donated by Visiting Geeks, a Merrimac-based family computer repair business with clients throughout the greater Newburyport area.

{This article was published in the Newburyport Daily News on 9/30/08.}
 

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