High tech in education showcased at Wasilla High

WASILLA — "This is one of the best times to be in high school."

That was the word of one Wasilla High School (WHS) senior attending the second annual Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) Tech Expo 2017.

WHS hosted the March 9 event. Its purpose was to showcase to MSBSD students’ families, community members and businesses how the latest technology and how it is used in the classroom. Several Valley IT-related businesses were also on-hand to pique participants' interests in the subject. However, the push of the all-day expo was to allow students to demonstrate their communication and knowledge skills by sharing the what, why and how of technology-based learning. Another benefit was providing an opportunity for district teachers to share their technology knowledge with both colleagues and the public.

Brett Hill, MSBSD iTech program administrator, said there was a marked increase in both the number of participants and attendees. The 2017 event included 51 booths packed into the WHS gymnasium.

"We had 30 the first year," Hill said. "We had about 4,300 people attend this year compared to 2,500 last year."

Of that number, Hill said about 4,000 were students. He said 35 of the district's 47 schools visited the expo's morning or evening sessions. Hill said the number of adults attending this year's Expo was also up from 2016. Students in grades 3-12 were invited and some of those students, including some first-graders from Willow Elementary, were eager to show off what they've been learning in the classroom.

Some of the more interesting draws included: robotics, computer coding, web design, fiber optics, and even using bananas to play music. Want to learn how to build your own video game? The Machetanz Elementary booth was staffed with students chomping at the bit to show you how they do it. 3D printing is gaining exponential popularity if fields from automobile design to the medical field. A stop at the American Charter Academy booth was in order where students grade 6-8 were ready to explain the process and its potential.

Justin Ainsworth, district executive director of instruction said technology is and will continue to be a key fundamental for today's students.

"If you look at the research, 80 percent of the future jobs will require computer literacy or computer fundamentals. Technology allows some of our students to get some of that the hands-on , practical experience...the benefits of our district is that we have a variety of technology applications. There's a lot of diversity in how we apply, As we move forward, tech continues to develop. Right now, our focus is getting tech in the hands of our students," Ainsworth said "There are so many things that we're doing sometimes hard to get a pulse on it."

Throughout the event, WHS digital media students were broadcasting the Expo live through the internet on livestream. A newsroom, run by the WHS print media students prepared copy for the adjacent television studio complete with teleprompters, news anchors and satellite feeds from individual booths. One of the more popular booths was hosted by Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA). MTA, one of seven title partners involved with the project, set up several virtual reality units for the public to experience. Students and adults alike waited in line for a chance to immerse themselves, for two minutes, in another world.

Hall said a lot of work is involved months ahead of the Expo to insure its success. He said the most involved is getting the infrastructure in place to handle computer, electrical and related needs. Wasilla Middle School hosted the first event last year. Hall said those infrastructure costs run close to $100,000. In exchange that investment, which will serve the school for years in the future, WHS committed to hosting the Expo for the next four years.

Hall said planning began back in early October and a crew of about 30 was involved in everything from contacting vendors to setup and cleanup. He said the pace of technological change will remain steady and he's pleased to see more and more of it implemented in the classroom.

"I have to give (teachers and students) a lot of praise. It's a great event and the students have a great opportunity to show what they know," Hall said. "It up's everybody's game."

In addition to MTA, other title sponsors include ATS, Extreme Networks, Structured, GCSIT Solutions, DellEMC, Siemens, Firstline voice and data networks, Lenovo and Verizon.