Noonen and Galdon explained how rapidly the world is changing and the need for classroom environments to adapt through the introduction of new technology.

Noonen and Galdon played an eight-minute video presentation demonstrating statistics of how technology is expanding exponentially.

“The amount of technical information is doubling every two years. In 2010, it is predicted to double every 72 hours,” according to Karl Fisch, who produced the video.

The video also included mathematically-based predictions including “For children born in 2007, at the age of 6 a supercomputer’s computation capabilities will exceed that of the human brain ... by 2049 it will exceed that of the human race.”

“Seeing what lies ahead goes right to the heart,” said Crawford Central board member Stuart Rothman. “It’s 180 degrees away from the way our kids are learning. If we don’t go the route of technology then they are going to be left behind.”

The goal of the Classrooms For the Future Grant is to teach students 21st-century skills that go beyond the three R’s of reading, writing and arithmetic. Through the utilization of technology and the Internet, students will move from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered classroom.

Through the use of the Internet and the mobility of laptops, students will become linked, improving their collaboration and problem-solving skills. The teachers of today become facilitators who guide students through technology and also provide a forum where students can learn from one another.

According to Rothman, there are many advantages in multi-sensory learning.

“Through the senses students use different parts of their brains,” he said. “This gives students a greater chance of relating the information and then retaining it.”

During all three districts’ March work sessions, technology directors purveyed Fisch’s video. In a nutshell, the video emphasized the need to not just teach students facts, but to teach them how to master technological resources.

“We are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet,” Fisch said.

While the grant provides funding for the majority of the initial program start-up costs, school districts are saddled with future sustainability costs.

As the third and final year that school districts throughout Pennsylvania are eligible to receive funding under the Classrooms For the Future Grant Program, districts are finding themselves under tremendous pressure.

With the April 11 grant application deadline looming, Crawford Central, Conneaut and PENNCREST must now determine what each district’s costs will be above and beyond the funding provided by the grant and how they are going to pay for it.