In the fall of 2002, Ashland Community High School installed the Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology, or ATM. This system is used to expand the number of courses offered at ACHS and other rural Maine schools.

The ATM is a high-performance distance-learning program that links schools together to share classes. Instead of traveling to another school, students can take a live class in their own school using microphones and video cameras. This makes it seem as if they are in the same room as the class being taught at another school.

The ATM system includes a large, 8-foot projective screen; three cameras (student camera, instructor camera and the projector camera, also called the document camera); six microphones; two VCRs (one that records and one that plays); a 36-inch TV; wireless keyboard and mouse; and scan converter. The projective screen allows four schools to be projected at once including the class being taught. The teacher uses the touch screen to control what goes on in that classroom and the classrooms of other schools taking the same course.

Approximately 60 schools in Maine are using the ATM technology. Ashland, Washburn, Caribou, Presque Isle, Wisdom, Fort Fairfield and Limestone are some of the schools in Aroostook County that use this technology. The schedules at each school had to be synchronized so students could take classes at the same time. Some of the courses offered are Japanese I and II, American Sign Language I and II, calculus, German, French, Spanish and statistics. According to the federal government, this technology provides rural schools with a chance to teach and receive classes that are outside their school setting.

The funding for this program came from a federal grant. The ATM came to Principal Gene Bradbury’s attention through letters and e-mails from other schools. “It would give us the chance to offer more things, and give the teachers a chance to learn as well,” Bradbury said. Bradbury asked which teacher wanted to have the equipment in his or her room because every room in the ACHS building is being used. Linda Caron offered to teach a French III course using the ATM in her room. “It was a major change, but it provides so many opportunities,” Caron said.

During the summer everything was taken out of Caron’s room and a rug was put in to avoid echo. The walls were painted blue so they would not blend with skin color, and blinds were put in the windows to block the sun’s glare. Workers spent several days rewiring the classroom.

Learning how to use the ATM was time-consuming. It took a full day of orientation to teach Linda Caron how to use the system. “The technology is so advanced,” she said. Other teachers interested in offering combined school courses will be training in the next few months to use the ATM. It was a major change, but it was well worth it.

Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy, Brewer High School, John Bapst Memorial High School, Old Town High School, MDI High School, Ashland Community High School and Schenck High School in East Millinocket. The weekly column is a joint effort among the schools, the Bangor Daily News and Acadia Hospital. This week’s column was written by Ashland Community High School students. Their adviser is Laura Howes.