| 21st
Century Classroom Initiative |
21st Century Classroom
Initiative Ready To Launch
School board OKs high-tech
classrooms at demonstration schools
The Cobb County Board of Education has given a unanimous
green light to a project that will bring cutting edge
classroom technology tools to seven demonstration schools
throughout the county. The 21st Century Classroom initiative
will turn classrooms into high-tech, interactive learning
environments at the seven schools. Every classroom in these
schools will be converted, and teachers will be trained in
the effective use of the new tools. Specific classrooms at
additional schools throughout the District also will be
converted.
In total, 21st Century Classrooms will be installed in
400-500 classrooms throughout the District. Installation
will begin soon and will be completed in time for the
classrooms to be active by the beginning of the second
semester of the 2007-2008 school year. In the meantime, each
demonstration school will install one 21st Century Classroom
to be used as a demonstration site for faculty, students and
parents.
In July, the Board of Education awarded a Request For
Proposal for the 21st Century Classroom project to three
vendors. The seven schools that will undergo a total
conversion are: Bells Ferry, Belmont Hills, Clay, Green
Acres, and Mt. Bethel elementary schools, Durham Middle
School, and Sprayberry High School.
The intent of the 21st Century Classroom is to provide
teachers with tools to more effectively engage today’s
learners. Teachers are faced with the task of communicating
a curriculum to a new generation of students who are very
technologically proficient. With the tools of the 21st
Century Classroom, each teacher will be better equipped to
teach in a technological arena that compliments the world in
which today’s students live, play and interact. The tools of
the 21st Century Classroom include an interactive white
board and/or projection screen, an interactive pad,
ceiling-mounted projector, student response system,
ceiling-mounted speakers with amplifier, CATV tuner,
wall-mounted controller, and a DVD/VCR player.
“Students today are part of a technological environment that
is far different from the world in which most adults grew
up,” said Chris Ragsdale, the district’s chief technology
officer. “Cell phones, text-messaging, personal web sites
and interactive computer programs are all a routine part of
our children’s lives. They find the technology intuitive,
and they assimilate it very quickly. When these tools are
introduced to a classroom setting, the students become
engaged right away.”
The District will perform a comprehensive evaluation of the
project to determine its effectiveness. Documents detailing
the plan for the implementation and evaluation of the 21st
Century Classroom initiative were developed by the District
and evaluated by the Facilities & Technology Review
Committee. These documents are available on the District web
site. Also available on the web site is a video clip
presentation that provides a visual illustration of the
technology components that are part of a 21st Century
Classroom.
Documents:
In PDF format
•
21st
Century Communications Plan
• 21st Century
Logic Model
•
21st Century Performance Measures
•
21st Century Project Plan Timeline
• 21st
Century Timeline
• 21st
Century Training Framework Plan for Interactive Whiteboards
• 21st
Century Training Framework Plan for Student Response Systems
Media:
Download and view the
presentation made to the Board July 26, 2007
(WMV format, 24MB)
View an info graphic of the elements of the 21st Century Classroom.
|
