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Being in the American Technology Honor Society
The American Technology Honor Society, announced in 1995 and implemented in 1996, is one of the newest groups available to kids looking for a place to learn about technology. This month, Kidspeak spoke with two students from Oklahoma, JD and Steven, who were charter members in their junior high's ATHS chapter. By Alicia M. Bartol SCR*TEC |
 ome schools
are teeming with after-school activities for their students, with everything from
baseball to yearbook staff. However, even with the relatively wide variety of
extracurriculars, some kids are still stuck wondering what to do when the last
bell rings. For kids interested in technology, their hobby can often be
off-limits unless they're lucky enough to have a computer at home. However,
more and more schools are now discovering the American Technology Honor Society,
formed in 1996. The ATHS provides a place where kids can find adult mentors with
similar interests, can improve their technology skills, and can give something
back to their community by using their knowledge to help others. This month,
Kidspeak spoke with two former students of Kerr
Junior High School in Del City, Oklahoma, where a chapter of ATHS was founded
two years ago.
Steven and JD were charter members of Kerr's ATHS chapter, which meant they met the criteria for membership as set forth by ATHS. Members must display technological literacy, scholarship, service, and leadership. Steven and JD were only two of many students at Kerr who heard about the society and wanted to pursue membership. Steven explained: "Well, we have this thing called video news at our school, and it's just like the announcements over the intercom, but it's over the TV. Ms. Littlefield, our sponsor for the ATHS ... had an announcement on there about it a couple years ago. I just decided to go to see what it was like 'cause I liked computers, and I like to do stuff like that, and it was just something to do." |
 D agreed,
"I'm always on the computer, so I went up to [Ms. Littlefield] and we had a
little meeting, and we all created the organization at our school." Setting up
the chapter was definitely a group effort. While many schools may qualify for a
chapter, the students and sponsors have to do a little footwork together to get
it off the ground. Both JD and Steven were surprised at what was required, and
how large the national society actually was.
"I didn't think it was this big national thing; I just thought it was something our school was putting together, but it wasn't. It was on a higher level. There was a lot we had to do, like ... put together a constitution, and we had to have our charter ... and we had to do fund raising," said Steven. |
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D found that
there were more people interested in technology than he had expected, and that
part of the society's mission was to encourage the use of technology in schools.
"I think [the purpose] is just getting the knowledge of computers and technology
farther into the classrooms and to the students; and to the people who don't use
technology every day--to get them interested."
For Steven, the goals of the society were similar. He said, "I've learned that it's just to help others, and to help myself and the people in the group ... to learn more about technology." With this aim, the students of Kerr's ATHS wrote up a constitution and began their regular meetings. Steven said, "We usually split up in the meetings. We'd have some of the kids doing one thing, and some doing another on another computer over in another part of the library." |
 he students
taught each other a variety of different hardware and software uses. JD
explained, "At a normal meeting, we would have the scanners and probably the
Internet; and probably at a different meeting, we would do the Quicktime cameras,
or the Quicktake cameras. We would just do different computer peripherals at
different meetings." They've also learned how
to use word processors like Claris Works and multimedia software like
Hyperstudio. JD enjoyed learning how to use the scanner most.
"That first year, I brought some stuff up and scanned it myself. Then last year,
we taught some new people about scanners so I brought more stuff up and scanned
it, so I think that the scanner would have to be the most fun thing that I liked,"
said JD.
Steven also participated in teaching his peers new skills. Since he had worked as a library aide, he already knew how to use certain software that he could explain to the ATHS chapter. He said, "I had some skills ... because Claris Works we used a lot when I was a library aide in seventh grade. So I was one of the people that [Ms. Littlefield] had to show everybody else how to work it." In other cases, Steven and JD were on the receiving end, learning from other ATHS members. For example, Steven learned a lot about the Internet in ATHS. "I knew a little bit more about it, but there was still a whole lot more to learn ... it's a really good tool to know how to use. We learned how to get around, how to find things, [and how to] search things which you want to find." |
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he ATHS
members weren't just confined to the technology in their library however. They
often took the opportunity to go out into their community and see technology at
work. JD said that one of their best field trips was to the American
Broadcasting School, where they learned about many sides of current broadcast
technology. JD said, "We started out and this guy just gave us a tour. He
showed us every aspect, like how they get the songs on the radio, and how they
choose the people they put on the radio, and the play list of when they want to
play the song, and what format it's coming from." JD enjoyed this trip the most,
because it showed him, "how a whole lot of small things can build up to one
person on the radio just playing songs and announcing, and doing everything."
The students weren't the only ones to learn about technology, however. The teachers at Kerr Junior High also got a dose of technology training: from the ATHS members themselves! Teaching their teachers was a natural outcome of the goals of the ATHS. They hoped to disseminate technology knowledge to the people at their school, so this intention was integrated into their chapter's constitution. While organizing their events at a beginning-of-the-year meeting, ATHS members brainstormed a number of ideas concerning the spread of technology at their school. JD explained: "When we made the list at the beginning of the school year, [training the teachers] was just one of the things we thought of. We trained them on word processors, because some of the teachers still don't know how to type things up and how to change the format, so we thought we could teach them more details." The training only lasted about two hours, and the teachers enjoyed the workshop and got a lot out of it. |
 pparently the
ATHS chapter has educated many of the people at Kerr, teachers and students
alike. The members themselves also report learning a lot more about technology
with ATHS than they could have on their own. Steven explained: "You're learning
with the group [and] they've got better equipment at the school. The group knows
a lot more than I do, so it's really a lot easier and a lot faster to get things
and to learn things."
JD agreed. He said, "I like it a lot, and I think if [you] have some kids at [your] school who are interested in technology, then [the ATHS] would be a lot of fun and worth their time." When asked what he'd say to others who are considering starting an ATHS chapter, Steven said, "Go for it! It's a good thing to have. Technology is a big part of our society now, and kids need to learn about it. A lot of kids have fun with it; it's a good recreational thing; and it's also a learning tool. So it's a really good thing to have at your school." |
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Take a few minutes to visit these ATHS-related sites!
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A few picks by the SCR*TEC staff:
Who can join? Here
you can read about how schools and students become eligible for ATHS membership, and
who benefits from the ATHS.
How to form a chapter. View this
page to see the six steps needed for creating an ATHS chapter at your school.
School chapter application. Print this page, fill it out, and apply for school membership
in the American Technology Honor Society.
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