By Daniel Dunaief

Benjamin Batter, a 10th grader at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, noticed a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con near the side of the road.

Rather than keep going, he took it apart, cleaned it, fixed the battery and got it to work.

His decision reflects the kinds of actions the Port Jefferson school district is taking as it embraces evolving technology in a host of contexts, providing new classes such as Esports as well as clubs, STEAM and drone camps.

US News and World Reports ranked Earl L. Vandermeulen High School as one of the best STEM schools in the nation, encouraging administrators and the Board of Education to continue to invest “energy and financial resources to build in this area,” said Robert Neidig, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in the Port Jefferson school district.

Indeed, Port Jefferson built a computer science center in the high school that opened before the start of the academic year and wanted to capitalize on additional opportunities.

This summer, the middle school and high school are partnering up with Inspirit AI in a two-week artificial intelligence boot camp taught by graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and others that offers personalized teaching.

“We’re providing the venue while the professors come and teach and work with our students in terms of projects they can create and build under their leadership,” said Neidig. “It’s something I’m very excited about [as the school gets] some of the best and brightest minds to wet their palate.”

Summer projects with Inspirit AI for a middle school and high school class, which will start out with 10 to 12 students each, will deploy coding and AI skills to accomplish different tasks, such as efforts to improve the environment or enhance medical services.

Drone and STEAM camps

All year round, the school district offers STEAM and drone camps.

While rooted in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math, Port Jefferson schools envision using these technology-driven skills sets in other arenas.

“In coding for social studies or science” students apply the same computer science skills in various contexts, Neidig said.

Drones, meanwhile, have provided an outlet for students interested in photography, videography and other applications.

Sixth-grader Jonathan Kogan appreciates the opportunity to work with others in the drone camp. He feels as if the drones expand his horizons.

“I like flying the drones and taking pictures and videos,” said Kogan. When he’s operating something in the air it “feels like you’re flying as well.”

When the school was considering the purchase of new tables in the cafeteria, Batter took overhead photos with a drone. The Board of Education considered those photos when choosing what kinds of new tables to buy.

Drones can help in other contexts. In Rwanda and Madagascar, officials fly medicines by drones to populations that might otherwise be difficult to reach with other transportation.

As for the safety of the drones, Port Jefferson has educated the middle and high school students on altitude limits.

“Education is paramount in all these endeavors,” said Neidig. “Before drones go up, [students] are looking at the rules for flights” which vary depending on the area. “We have the ability to understand what the flight rules are in Port Jefferson.”

Robert Farenga, a high school and middle school teacher who runs the STEAM and drone camps and teaches esports, is planning on collecting student images from the drones in areas of the town and the school and putting up pictures around the school and in his classroom.

Farenga has discussed the use of drones in real estate, entertainment, the party business, and advertising.

“A person who is trained in using drones and knowing how to edit that film or photography can create a lucrative business,” he said.

Esports

In the two sixth-grade Esports classes that started this year, students have had the opportunity to play games and learn about the business.

Farenga, who also runs the STEAM and drone camps, suggested the business is “one of the fastest growing sports industries around.”

Farenga teaches a mixture of high school students grades about programming, announcing of games, management, marketing and other aspects of the business.

In a class they take for academic credit, students learn about job opportunities while they also discuss social and emotional learning through gaming.

Students don’t take formal quizzes or tests, earning grades based on their participation and projects.

Eventually, Farenga would like to add virtual reality goggles, which allow drone fliers to see through the lens as the drone is flying.

He would also like bring in guest lecturers who can share their experiences and background.

Artificial Intelligence

Port Jefferson schools are encouraging teachers to embrace educational opportunities through artificial intelligence.

Eva Grasso, the middle school/ high school library media specialist, is dispersing information to the staff and works with the middle school computer science students and engages them in critical thinking and problem solving activities.

AI is “insanely cool and super provocative in its potential for education in lots of fields,” said Grasso. At the same time, it could “have detrimental effects on society.”

Grasso sends out weekly tips to the middle and high schools that are meant to provide ways to learn more.

She has also worked with sixth graders in a range of subjects from algebra to language.

Even with AI, students are “finding their way back to those core skills that students 100 years ago and 100 years from now will need: can you collaborate, can you work well with others and can you recognize that frustration at not knowing something, which is not just a part of the process, but is an essential part of the process,” Grasso said

As educators, Grasso urges schools to teach students how to use AI responsibly.

In addition to Inspirit AI, Port Jefferson is also planning to offer a high school cybersecurity class this fall.

“We’re moving into this technology and offering these” options as a way to prepare students for the next steps in their lives, Farenga said.