Tech today creates the world of tomorrow

Editor’s note: The following is part of the Business Matters special section.

If you want to know about technology today, start with the children — after all, they are the future.

Troy Alesi teaches computer graphics and computer engineering graphics at State College Area High School, where he has both figuratively and literally been setting up shop for the past 23 years.

Alesi’s classroom is an open space with computers and a host of modern marvels that includes a 3-D printer. His classes, which he estimates range from 18 to 24 kids a piece, cover technologies ranging from engineering to video game design.

“I really feel like every student should have these opportunities,” Alesi said.

The practical applications — the immediate ones at least — are full of potential. According to Alesi, colleges are now starting to offer a science, technology, education and math major.

Regardless of whether students choose to continue with this part of their education, Alesi believes that experience with computer graphics and engineering provides young adults with the opportunity to develop invaluable real-life skills.

“The biggest skill that they need to walk away with is the ability to problem solve,” Alesi said.

In class, the students are moving from the consumers of technology to developers, encountering all of the obstacles that come along the away and finding creative ways to circumvent them.

One of their projects required them to create a small car that could be transformed into a boat halfway through an outdoor race.

Another group of students developed a plastic gumball machine that responds only to a specific series of knocks.

Over the course of his 23-year career at SCAHS, Alesi has seen the curriculum evolve immeasurably and he believes that it will continue growing well into the future.

“I see the relevance of it continuing to grow and improve over the next few years,” Alesi said.

Technological growth spurts come in such rapid succession that navigating something as simple as a phone can sometimes benefit from some outside assistance.

Amy Madison is an adult services librarian at Schlow Centre Region Library and oversees many of the building’s technology education classes. Subjects covered include iPad and e-book basics, cloud computing, Google apps, fitness trackers and basic Mac computing.

Classes cap at 15 people, giving those who attend the opportunity to expand their skill sets and get a better grasp of the technology at their fingertips.

“In today’s world, you’re disadvantaged if you can’t use it because it opens up all kinds of places,” Madison said.

She believes that technology has changed the game by bringing the entire world within reach. Products can be ordered online and delivered the next day almost as easily as information can be retrieved via a Google search. Even job applications are being filed over the Internet.

“That’s a powerful thing for productivity and creativity,” Madison said.

She said that people are usually surprised by what their smartphones are capable of, a symptom that usually subsides once they begin to associate the broad landscape of icons with their individual functions.

The end result is broader mobility and a life that can be more or less managed on the go.

“We’re not tied to our desks anymore, which is the best part,” Madison said.

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Tech today creates the world of tomorrow."