Study Hall Snapshot
by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator
Walking through the cafeteria this morning I saw a familiar tableau: students sitting in groups working on their laptops. Their quiet productivity made me pause. Heading back to my office I got to thinking about the scene.
I realized that while this is an everyday reality for all of us at Hopkinton High School, it’s not familiar to some of our staff, parents, or community members outside of the school. I also realized that while I walk by scenes like this daily, I am not exactly sure what students might be working on. So, with my iPhone in hand, I headed back to cafeteria to investigate and grab some photos.
I was prepared to discover that most, if not all, students would be playing games -- and told them that it was okay if they were gaming. Study is their time and they should decide how they want to spend it.
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that of the 15 students working on laptops, only 2 of them were gaming. One student was on TF2. Full disclosure: he had to repeat this twice for me and explain that this is short for Team Fortress 2, a multiplayer online game.
The second student was playing Cookie Clicker, where players bake cookies to earn upgrades. Side note to students: Really? There isn’t a better game out there? How about checking out other free online games like Minecraft, where you can create a universe, Marvel Heroes, where you can save the world, or Seven Seas Saga, where you hunt for treasure in Medieval Europe?!.
All other 13 students were working on various school projects, homework, or completing online assignments. The majority of students in the cafeteria this morning were focused on Biology projects. Two young women were critiquing images as part of an online forum in their hybrid Photography course. The rest were completing assignments for math and English -- sometimes even helping each other as they worked.
Just another day in “study hall” at HHS!
Study Hall at HHS (April 2014 on PhotoPeach)
