Classrooms Get a Tech Edge

By Chris McGinn

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New innovations are transforming schools with on-demand video streaming, interactive response systems, and the 21st century version of the chalkboard. The schoolrooms they left in the spring maybe be quite different when they enter them this Fall.

Interactive Whiteboards

Goodbye, chalkboard. Hello, SMARTboard!

This interactive whiteboard features a touch-sensitive display that connects to a computer and digital projector in the classroom. That lets teachers project information from online sources or their own documents onto a board for the entire classroom. 

What really sets this apart from other projection systems is that the information becomes interactive through an innovation called "digital ink." Students can interact with the information by writing answers or adding notes that can be stored on the computer or shared with others – or both.

Other providers include Promethean Activboards and Mimio, which offers a low-cost device that attaches to any whiteboard and can be used with a PC and projector to allow control of computer applications from the board.

Interactive whiteboards are becoming the norm in classrooms across the country as school districts look for ways to improve the classroom experience for a digital generation.

Interactive response systems

Interactive response systems, like SmartTech's Senteo or Promethean's Activexpression, add interaction and excitement to the classroom as well as improve teachers' abilities to gauge learning. Each student is given an RF-enabled remote that lets them log responses to teacher-generated questions. In a flash, the teacher and the class can know how each student "votes" for immediate feedback on how learning is going. 

Beyond just multiple choice or true/false questions, the system can also record attendance and permit numeric answers. Also, the information can be anonymous to the public, but teachers can learn which students are struggling with specific concepts and tailor individual instruction to their needs.

Frequent questioning engages the students and lets all students answer -- rather than just one who is chosen by the teacher.

Tablet PCs

Tablet PCs -- a hardware option that lets students "write" on their computer screens -- are portable and allow students to annotate presentations on their own screens or submit responses to open-ended questions, rather than taking notes by hand.
 
Software such as Dyknow's Vision can be incorporated into a tablet PC to increase student participation and teacher monitoring. Another interesting feature is RePlay, which lets students replay a problem as it is being solved, further enhancing the learning process.

Document cameras

The traditional overhead projector gets an update with document cameras. The cameras can project 3-D images or documents from books or paper to classroom screens, obveiating the need to make a classroom’s worth of copies.

On-Demand Video

Whether for distance learning, schoolwide announcements, or general instruction, on-demand video systems such as Vbrick are invaluable to schools. 

Vbrick is one system that enables schools to stream live or archived video over its IP network to be viewed by students in classrooms or staff via computer. Student announcements can be made via video rather than the old PA speaker and emergency messages can be relayed quickly and accurately.

Another key use for the technology is for distance education. Students can view teachers across the hall or across the world in real-time or on-demand with the video quality and interactivity needed for effective learning.  When integrated with VOIP telephones, true two-way communication in distance learning can take place. Once enabled throughout a school or district, the possibilities are endless: showing a cable news report on a major historical event, providing access to movies and recordings archived by the entire district, enhancing continuing education offerings for staff and more.

Student Safety

Is little Jimmy playing an on-line game? Is Susie having trouble finding the right site?
With all this access to technology, schools must take a vigilant role to protect students and staff from potential threats and inappropriate content.  In addition, tech-savvy students may need boundaries to keep them on-task when using computers for school assignments.

SmartTech's Synchroneyes software lets instructors view the entire class's screens on their computers to know exactly what every student is doing.

In addition, the program can be used to send tests directly to student screens for immediate feedback.

Faronics' Insight Comprehensive Lab Control is a similar classroom management software that lets instructors open, close or block applications and Web activity. They can also share their screens, send and collect files, chat with users and call for classroom votes from a central computer. 

For more about digital learning environments, visit HP's DLE site or read industry e-books.