New technology revolutionizing the classroom

SHEILA GRADY/Special to The Acorn STATE OF THE ART—Teachers from Las Virgenes Unified School District are learning the ropes of new technology for their classrooms. The multimedia projection systems will connect classrooms to the outside world and will revolutionize the way subjects are taught to students. In the form of technology, new life is taking hold in classrooms in the Las Virgenes Unified School District.

Greg Bostrom’s seventh-grade science class at A.E. Wright Middle School is a model of how technology is changing education. Bostrom’s students have the ability to see video clips of an actual beating heart with a new multimedia projection system that broadcasts Internet video onto an overhead screen.

“(Students) see the action of the valve and the heart, the blood flowing through chambers,” Bostrom said.

Seeing the living organ on the screen is just half the story. The new subwoofer speaker system installed in Bostrom’s classroom allows students to feel the vibrations of the beating heart.

Bostrom said the system’s remote control allows him to interact with students rather than being stuck at the front of the classroom.

The feature is especially helpful for English language learners and special education students, he said. “I literally look over their shoulder,” Bostrom said. The remote clicker gives him the ability to move around the room, allowing for better pacing of instruction and more efficient classroom management, he added.

The new multimedia projection systems are being rolled out in classrooms at every school in the district, said Donald Zimring, deputy superintendent. Within two years, every classroom at every school will be hightech, and teachers will be trained to customize lessons according to needs, curriculum and interests.

“It’s going to revolutionize the way we interact with our students, the curriculum and state standards,” Bostrom said. “The computer, video projector, speaker system, camera, make your room into a multimedia computer presentation facility, and the kids are wrapped into the lesson. It’s incredible.”

“It’s like an overhead projector on steroids,” said Bay Laurel Elementary School principal Sheila Grady. She said a teacher at Bay Laurel used her new Apple laptop with a built-in camera to connect with an author in New York. Students picked the writer’s brain about how he handles writer’s block.

Zimring said the equipment will cost approximately $2 million, “all paid for through Measure G.”

Training teachers to use the equipment is as important as the new systems, Zimring said. The equipment will only be issued to teachers after they’ve completed a threeday training course. Currently, 160 teachers have learned to use the equipment.

“It is not just about using the equipment; it is how to integrate the multitude of resources that are available, ranging from online resources for textbooks, video archives and new teaching strategies,” Zimring said.

“What we are trying to communicate to both our staff members and our parents is the fact that the vast majority of our teachers are technology immigrants—that is, they are being exposed to these skills later in their lives,” Zimring said. “They deal every day with students who are technology natives and use these skills and resources in virtually every aspect of their lives with little thought. Our efforts in trying to effectively communicate to this generation will largely depend on our ability to utilize the same tools and approaches that the students use day in and day out for learning outside the school.”

At Sumac Elementary School in Agoura Hills, teachers had a head start on the technology upgrades. The Parent Faculty Association and parent donations allowed the school to purchase some of the equipment for all classes over a year ago, principal Karen Hansen said. Third-grade teacher Eric Tally, a member of the district’s technology committee, trained Sumac teachers to use projectors and document cameras.

“With the use of the laptop, teachers are able to log on to United Streaming, a program that brings videos directly onto a projection screen,” Hansen said. “The cool part about the videos is that a teacher is able to say, ‘I want my students to learn the California Standard 1.3 for math statistics, data analysis and probability,’ and a short video can be found that will explain the concept visually.

“All of our research says the more you can connect the child, in his real world, to the learning concept, the more it will be remembered and applied in future learning,” Hansen said.

A third training session is scheduled in January, Zimring said. Once all the teachers are trained, Zimring said he believes the educational possibilities are endless. To demonstrate the reach of technology, a group discussion was conducted at Agoura High School for several hundred teachers, joined by computer link to a teacher in France.

“We are also looking at the potential for podcasting in the near future,” Zimring said. “This could be invaluable in teaching foreign language.”

“It’s opening up the world to kids,” Bay Laurel’s Grady said.