NORTHAMPTON — Thanks to a tweet by a tech-savvy teacher, Northampton High School now has a room full of Apple computers.

Last month, Smith College donated 20 iMac computers to the high school for use in technology teacher Jeromie Whalen’s classes.

In May, Whalen used his professional Twitter account, @NHS_Technology, to tweet a message to Smith College President Kathleen McCartney (@presmccartney), asking who he could talk to about getting computers donated to the high school. McCartney tweeted back that he should email Sam Masinter, who works in the office of college relations.

The new computers arrived at the high school June 10.

“It all started with a simple tweet,” Whalen said.

Whalen was hired as the high school technology teacher in August 2014. For most of the year, Whalen said he and his students used around ten refurbished iMacs, but many assignments had to be tailored to the restrictions in technology, such as having to put two or three students at one computer.

Now, he said, the student-to-computer ratio will be one-to-one, allowing students to feel more ownership over their projects.

“They will drastically change the dynamics of the class in regards to student achievement and engagement,” Whalen said.

Masinter said Smith College has had a long-standing relationship with public schools in the area through which schools can request donations of used computers and other technology from the college. In the last year, Smith has also donated 72 high-definition monitors to the Amherst Regional School District, six personal computers to Frontier Regional School, 13 iMacs to the Hampshire Regional School District, 12 iMacs to Ludlow schools and four laser printers to Northampton High School, according to Masinter.

“We’re proud to support our community, and one of the best ways for us to do that is through supporting what we know best: education,” Masinter said in an email.