Linda St. Laurent, instructional technology teacher at Cardinal Spellman, agrees.
"Watching the teachers bring the students in and then seeing their surprise at the different types of projects the students now have the opportunity to partake in has really been great," St. Laurent said.
As the instructional technology teacher, St. Laurent spends her day at the Library Learning Commons, teaching a digital literacy course to all freshman, as well as providing support to students and faculty members.
"Often people assume that because the students are young, they can use all these technologies, but that's not necessarily the case," she said. "As the saying goes, 'you don't know what you don't know,' and not every family has been exposed to technology in the same way."
According to St. Laurent, all students at Cardinal Spellman can sign up to spend their free period at the Library Learning Commons using their school-issued iPads. To date, over 1,700 sign-ups have been filed.
The school has also begun a speaker series in the Commons, beginning with Brockton City Counselor-at-large Shaynah Barnes, a 1994 graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School.
"The important thing is to get the students to come here the first time," she said. "Once you get them there once, they'll come back."
"As we continue to grow into this space, I would love it to become a living room for the school," continued St. Laurent. "I hope it will present opportunities for all the types of learners that make up our school."