By LISA HLAVINKA

Staff Writer

BRUNSWICK — Goodbye shop class, hello digital age.

Brunswick High School has phased out its technology arts program to introduce students to curriculum-based computer courses.

What used to be one large AutoCAD lab has been converted into four computer labs with Dell computers that will be used to teach students skills like Web design.

“We have an opportunity with the new sales tax to teach the technology students need to compete in college and students need to be prepared,” said Donna Amato, assistant director of education for Brunswick City schools.

Medina County residents approved a half-percent sales tax increase in 2006 for permanent improvements in school districts.

The construction and equipment in the lab cost about $170,000, Principal Michael Mayell said.

The lab is part of an informal technology plan drafted by a board of education team in June. The finalized plan will be up for approval in September.

“We’ve just gotten very far behind and we want to get up to speed technologically,” said Nancy Duelley, director of education. “But we also really want the technology to get into classrooms and kids’ hands in a more meaningful way.”

The plan will be completed in phases, she said. The high school technology lab is the first in a series of phases that Duelley said will take roughly five years to complete.

“Our first priority is to upgrade the network so that it will be adequate for modern and future needs,” Duelley said.

The high school and middle schools need an “infrastructure update,” she said.

The next phase is to slowly replace equipment with updated versions. For example, Duelley said eventually she would like to see overhead projectors replaced with digital projectors, and blackboards with interactive white boards.

There is already an interactive white board, called a SMART board, in the new computer lab. The SMART board connects to the digital projector and is touch-sensitive. There are 90 computers in the four labs, Mayell said.

The classes taught in the lab include Microsoft 1 and 2, Web design and Internet safety.

Classes will be project-based, meaning the individual skills the students learn will be combined “to present a high-quality project,” Amato said.

The classrooms are not only for students; teachers will be taught classes after school to keep their computer skills up-to-date.

Hlavinka may be reached at 330-721-4048 or lhlavinka@ohio.net.