I am writing on the issue of the White River technology levy.

The reason I believe my input has a great impact is because I’m currently enrolled at White River; I have a better perspective on why we should vote “yes.”

Over the last four years here there has been a dramatic change. Not only have we gained technology, we’ve also gone away from textbooks. The reason this has had such an impact on my learning is because in my previous years all I’ve done is memorize a million facts. Once the test came around my grade depended on how I could retain information I’ve memorized. We would sit there, stare at a textbook and cram as much in our heads as possible.

Now it is entirely different. I come into class and immediately grab a laptop, sit down and sign in to what we call Edmodo. Edmodo is a website we use as a class and school as a whole. It’s not only helped us receive updates in history but as well as our senior project, upcoming school events and letting us know what we missed the day before so the teacher doesn’t have a bunch of students interrupting them and asking what we did yesterday. Edmodo also helps facilitate communication and collaboration among students and teachers, and is not limited to the 50 classroom minutes.

Also the way that exams have changed is we don’t memorize facts just to write them down; we now apply information to specific situations and use information to make critical decisions. To me this is a real test if you understand the material. Not only has technology helped improve my learning but it has educated me on how to vote. I found I am moderate, leaning toward conservative.

The most important part about this is I haven’t learned something I’m going to lose right when school gets out. I’m now set for my future to be more of an educated voter so I can help this country grow for the good. Having transitioned into this style of learning has really sat well with me because I can vote for what I believe in not just what I’ve been persuaded in. I challenge you to next time you hear someone saying technology in school isn’t important, ask them what history and a textbook did for their future as a United States citizen.

Garrett Quiles

Buckley