=20
Our first "prototype" or "experimental" classroom was built in an old =
building when we were a couple of years away from a major building =
project. The teachers worked with ITS and the carpenters to lay out a =
room that they thought would work. Then the carpenters prefabbed it out =
of plywood (ugly as all get out, but functional) and every teacher in =
the dept taught at least a week in that space and gave feedback. This =
process was extremely helpful in 1) defining technology standards for =
the new building and eventually all classrooms, 2) ironing out the kinds =
of things you only notice when you are living in a room (like having to =
point the remote control at the VCR in the back of the room when you =
want to point it towards the screen at the front of the room). Those =
rooms came standard with projector, two cloth screens, whiteboards, =
desktop computer, DVD/VCR, and some rooms had laser disks because we had =
a library of materials on LD. These rooms also have the ability to =
"patch" in an S-video or composite video device, like a flex cam.
=20
Since then, the building was built and was very comfortably adapted to, =
and now we're looking at another major renovation next year. In =
addition, we are moving our faculty to mobile devices (like TabletPCs) =
in place of desktop computers in each classroom for the teacher, so we =
have built two additional experimental rooms for teachers to: use their =
(or our) TabletPC with a projector, show cable TV programming, hook up a =
TI-Presenter to the projector, show DVD, or use a document camera--a new =
technology for us that has been popular. We have equipped these rooms =
with electronics racks, a hard controller (Crestron) on the wall and a =
software version available on the TabletPC from which the teacher can =
control everything in the room (except lights/shades, which was voted =
excessive by the teachers), and good quality speakers. Sound quality =
and containment continue to be problematic, especially in older =
buildings that are renovated. We went with wireless access points in =
each space and wireless projection (which is not yet very stable, but =
extremely convenient). We also stock and check out for use headset/boom =
mics for use by language classes and those recording podcasts in the =
lab-like space we also built.
=20
We staff these buildings with rotating shifts of ITS staff who handle =
room reservations, equipment setup and training, documentation, and =
sometimes in-class support (we also instituted a "we can't sub for you" =
policy). It's complicated, but it's been helpful exposing all of the =
teachers to all of the ITS staff in person. We survey all users of the =
spaces at the end of each term to get specific feedback on features and =
functionality of the rooms. We have tweaked the controllers' setup a =
few times in response to the feedback we have received. =20
=20
The return of ITS staff to academic buildings has been a big positive =
for all, including ITS. That relationship building that breaks down =
when you centralize can be restored when you go back into "their" =
spaces.
=20
Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me off-list if you have other =
questions. Best, Vi
=20
____________________________________
Vi Richter
Instructor/Academic Technology Coordinator, ITS
Phillips Exeter Academy
=20
________________________________
From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Martha =
McMahon
Sent: Tue 7/15/2008 3:17 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Demonstration Classrooms
Hello,
We are looking to put a demonstration classroom in place. The
purpose of this room would be to let teachers bring classes in and
try out new pieces of technology to help them decide what they may
want to request for their permanent classroom. Does anyone have one
of these in use in their school? If so, what is in the room and how
has the school benefitted from this room?
Thanks,
Martha
--
Martha McMahon
Technology Coordinator
John Burroughs School
755 South Price Road
Saint Louis, MO 63124
(314)993-4045 x204
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