Chamber News

Secretary of Technology Visits Patrick County Schools.

The Honorable Aneesh Chopra, the Secretary of Technology, visited Patrick County Public Schools on Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

Secretary Chopra Visits Patrick County Schools The Honorable Aneesh Chopra, the Secretary of Technology, visited Patrick County Public Schools on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Mr. Chopra toured Patrick County High School and observed several classrooms that encompass technology in student lessons. One of the new technologies, an Airliner, incorporates student technology input into daily lessons. With the AirLiner wireless slate a teacher can interact wirelessly with the SMART Board interactive whiteboard or Sympodium interactive pen display from 50 feet away. The battery-free tethered pen lets the teacher control any software application, write notes and highlight information in digital ink. SMART’s AirLiner wireless slate enables the instructor to teach from anywhere and allows students to interact with information from their seats. Multiple slate users can write at the same time as someone at the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. This is a modern version of the slate board students used in the 18th Century, but with a 21st Century use. Mrs. Jeanie Clark, math teacher at PCHS, states, “The AirLiner has been a tremendous asset to our math department. This year every member of our department received one to use in class. They allow the teacher to be more mobile to move around the room and check student progress. Airliners also allow students to work problems on the SmartBoard without leaving their desks. We are very thankful to have access to this technology in our classrooms." After the tour the Secretary held a roundtable discussion on Technology in the 21st Century Classroom. The session was held with the seven schools in Patrick County, using videoconferencing technology. Dr Roger Morris, Division Superintendent, explained that the videoconferencing of meetings like this “enables more individuals to participate at the schools and saves in travel time and costs.� While there have been several videoconferences held by the school division, this is he first county-wide conference to be held. Dr. Morris stated that he was “pleased that the Secretary took the time out his busy schedule to come to Patrick County. Mr. Chopra has been and continues to be an advocate for utilizing technology in the classroom in order to prepare students for the 21st century workforce. Mr. Chopra “was impressed by how easily teachers were incorporating the use of technology as they taught curriculum standards; teachers were using online learning objects to enhance classroom instruction. This appeared very natural in a technology-rich school setting.� Aneesh Chopra is currently Virginia’s Fourth Secretary of Technology serving Governor Tim Kaine. In this capacity, he leads the Commonwealth’s strategy to effectively leverage technology in government reform, promotes Virginia’s innovation agenda, and fosters technology-related economic development with a special emphasis on entrepreneurship. For the Governor, Secretary Chopra chairs the Solutions Committee of the IT Investment Board, the Effectiveness and Efficiency Committee of the Council on Virginia’s Future, and co-chairs the Healthcare IT Council with Health Secretary Marilyn Tavenner. Secretary Chopra was awarded the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) 2007 State Leadership Advocacy Award, and was also recently named to Government Technology magazine’s Top 25 in their Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers issue, which recognizes the 25 individuals they believe help set the standard for using technology to improve government. Prior to joining Governor Kaine’s cabinet, Aneesh served as Managing Director with the Advisory Board Company, a publicly-traded health care think tank serving nearly 2,500 hospitals and health systems. He led the firm’s Financial Leadership Council and the Working Council for Health Plan Executives, as well as assisted the launch of the firm’s first business intelligence software solution, Compass. Aneesh graduated with a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997. He graduated with a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1994.