OBSERVER Photo Lukas Gill speaks during the TIF Talks event in Forestville last month.

FORESTVILLE — Holland technology teacher Lukas Gill could not make it to class on March 21. He had a commitment to be with other teachers and colleagues from around Western New York to talk about some of the successes he has seen in the last two years while overseeing an exciting curriculum.

During a brief break in one of the presentations, however, Gill did the next best thing. He went to a distance learning lab in Forestville and was able to connect with his students.  

Separa-ted by about an hour, Gill was instantly in front of the group.

But that is no small wonder for those he is teaching. In his second year of leading an advanced placement course, which receives college credit, Gill has been pleasantly surprised and amazed by what his students have accomplished.

“They feel the importance of what their learning,” Gill said at a recent TIF Talks event in the Forestville High School auditorium attended by about 50 educators. “They know that we’re in dire need of more computer science graduates in the near future.”

Modeled after the TED Talks, a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks and highly viewed on the internet, TIF Talks highlighted the changing classroom environment that no longer comes down to carrying books and notepads from classroom to classroom.

Today’s student wants to be involved in the learning process, not just hearing about it.

Using Gill’s class as an example, there’s true reason to believe these educators — and students — are moving in the right direction. As part of his Mobile Computer Science Principles curriculum, the students need to create a project that can be socially useful — and not just another game.

He gave three examples of mobile apps his students have created that would have a benefit to society. The first was a “no texting, no driving” app. As the text is received by the driver, it is automatically played out loud with a response based on what the user inputted, including “I’ll get back to you, I’m driving right now.”

Another was a map tour app, using Google Maps, where users input areas they would like to visit in a certain region. The app gives them the variations and time it would take to reach those destinations.

The third, and most unique, was an “Are you drunk?” app, which through determining your gender, weight and what you have had to drink in a certain time period can determine whether you have had one too many. “What started out as sarcasm turned into a great app. … It could be a lifesaving app,” Gill noted.

First-year results of the course scored a mark of excellent. Of the 10 students in Holland who took the course, nine received college credit — a 90 percent success rate. Nationally, the average receiving credit is about 78 percent.

Besides Gill, TIF Talks also included presentations from Mike Drezek from Lake Shore Central, Jessica Richards from Fredonia Central Schools, April Binkley from Falconer schools and Ben Higgins from the Springville-Griffith Institute.

Not only did the day offer the group of educators time to reflect on the challenges and successes, it gave them time to talk ideas and the changing landscape of how this generation of students learn.

In many ways, the third-year event energizes the presenters and those in attendance. “It offers the teachers a platform to talk about some ideas that are important to them,” said Andy Wheelock, event organizer and technology coordinator with Erie 1 BOCES.

Forestville’s auditorium, which seats close to 500, is an ideal location for an event of this sort. It also would be great to make it more community oriented — and geared to area businesses. Wheelock said that is something being considered for the fourth edition of the event.

Our rapidly changing world is impacting careers — across the nation and right here at home. TIF Talks proves many teachers in our region are adapting to the changes — and they’re up to the challenge.

John D’Agostino is the OBSERVER publisher. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 366-3000, ext. 401.