More than 400 Cherokee County high school graduates will walk across the stage June 5 to receive their diplomas. An invisible key will turn and close the door permanently on this chapter of their life.

Nostalgia always sets in for me at this time in the year. As I grow older, I find myself wondering what my high school experience would have been like in today's school setting.

There is no rewind button on a remote control that graduates can press to go back and relive the high school experience. Even if we could, this doesn't mean our choices as 18- year-olds would be any different.

High schools hold alcohol and drug awareness programs annually to remind students about the importance of being safe and not drinking and driving. It is worth it to offer students a Prom Bash and free day out of school if it results in one student making the right decision.

It seems like there are many more options available for high school students today than there were in previous decades.

My perception is there is greater emphasis in high schools on getting students to apply for scholarships to help make college affordable. Computers have resulted in students being able to take online and distance learning courses that simply sounded like science fiction until we entered this millennium.

With gasoline becoming more expensive, my prediction is school districts will expand the use of video conference technology.

This will result in students doing remote lessons with schools in other states and taking "virtual" field trips to learn about places like NASA without leaving their classrooms.

Students will be required to participate in online discussions in classes by e-mailing into message boards monitored by their teachers.

A few well-heeled school districts may even choose to cooperate in a joint venture to place a multimedia technology classroom in a central location.

A critical shortage in foreign language teachers statewide could result in distance learning agreements where students might have foreign language classes taught by teachers in Spain, France or China.

Some of these concepts are already realities. There are others that haven't been thought about or are just now being discussed in districts around the country.

Technology has permanently changed how schools will deliver education. Students still need to be good readers and writers in order to keep up with the rapid change of information in today's society.

I am excited about what I have been reading about in the fields of genomics and genetics.

My interest in this area has been fostered by my father, who was a biochemistry professor at Clemson University for 37 years.

I highly recommend college students read "The Genome War" by James Shreeve and Craig Venter's biography.

Scientists are now studying the code of human life and the role genes play in the development of conditions such as autism and schizophrenia.

This genetic research could have a long-term impact on life as we know it. Some of today's high school graduates will be on the forefront of making these discoveries.

It's a far cry from the fun I once had launching model rocket engines and watching dry ice fizz in a glass of cold water.

Scott Powell (spowell@gaffneyledger.com) covers education issues for The Gaffney Ledger.