THEN & NOW: Classroom Computers

THEN & NOW: Classroom Computers

The Class of 1970 met with their 3rd grade pen pals over Zoom and discussed how technology has changed at EA over the years.

The 3rd graders welcomed very special guests to their virtual classrooms in May. Four members of the Class of 1970, who had been scheduled to celebrate their 50th Reunion on campus that weekend, were able to meet their pen pals “face-to-face.”

Jim Rogers ‘70 visited with the class of Alison Keffer, Hon. Mr. Rogers, whose father, grandfather, and three sons all graduated from Episcopal, was thrilled to meet two of his pen pals in Mrs. Keffer’s class and speak with the rest of the students about the school he loves. The other alumni visitors were Doug Keith ‘70, Ron Rothrock ‘70, and Jim Vick ‘70.

The 3rd Grade Pen Pal program began in 2012 with the 3rd grade Class of 2021 and the 50th Reunion Class of 1962. Each year, the students write letters to their assigned pen pal, asking about what school was like 50 years before, and sharing stories about new EA traditions, discussing classroom projects, and inviting the alumni to visit their classrooms each May during Alumni Weekend. Since then, some of the participating alumni enjoyed the experience so much that they have continued the tradition, writing to new third grade students and returning to meet them year after year.

This year, the students were fascinated to learn that, though they have become completely dependent on computers in their current virtual classrooms, there were no personal computers for students to use at Episcopal when Mr. Rogers and his classmates were students. He recalled that the General Electric computer housed on the third floor of the Upper School was really a teletype machine that linked up to a computer in Valley Forge that was larger than a house.

“For the second year in a row Episcopal has secured the use of a General Electric Computer,” Dave Fenimore ’68 wrote in the Scholium in 1968, “and it hardly has the chance to cool off from eight till five.” Students from second through the sixth forms were able to use the rather noisy computer, which cost $30 an hour to operate and was described in the Scholium as a “fascinating tool of modern science.” And, in 1969, History Teacher Mr. Latham, Hon. partnered with the Mathematics Department and McBee Business Solutions to create student and teacher schedules via a computer program, saving countless hours of conflict checking by hand. The process was so new that they ran a series of simulation runs in March to ensure it would work properly.

Mr. Rothrock shared with Jennifer Tierney ‘91’s class how different daily life was as these new technologies were emerging. “We didn’t have cell phones or the internet, yet,” Mr. Rothrock said, “I took the train from Bryn Mawr to the Merion campus. If my mom wasn’t there to pick me up, I would use a dime to call her on a payphone.”

Today, it is hard to imagine how schools could operate without technology, especially amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic. As schools around the world were forced to close campuses and transition to an online environment, the use of technology became even more essential in the education sector. Teachers were able to leverage a plethora of technology platforms and software, including Zoom, Google classrooms, Floop, Flipgrid, Studymate, Peergrade, and more, to engage with their students and offer synchronous and asynchronous lessons.

Technology has also enabled students to remain connected to one another, even when thousands of miles apart. Students in the 3rd grade were able to video conference with their classmate, Kira, who has been living in China for the year while her mother

was a guest professor in computer science at the Shenyang University of Technology. Students also gathered online regularly for game nights, workout sessions, and more. Though today’s young scholars may not realize this yet, the connections they are building with classmates today at Episcopal may result in unique bonds and lifelong friendships.

“All of you know each other very well,” Mr. Rogers said to Mrs. Keffer’s class. “If you can, imagine being 60 years older and still knowing your friends that you know today. That’s what happened to me.” The Class of 1970 is a very tight-knit class and spent the past year eagerly awaiting their 50th Reunion. While the on-campus portion of their Reunion was postponed to Spring 2021, the class enjoyed connecting through a recent virtual reunion to celebrate the milestone.

Jim Rogers '70 visited with the 3rd grade class of Alison Keffer, Hon.