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Audio Video Corporation

NEWS AND EVENTS

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September 29, 2006

Smart Classrooms Live Up to Their Name

LYNDONVILLE — While offering a demonstration to school and government officials Thursday, Elizabeth Feldman got an unexpected lesson. Even the latest technology can hit a snag or two. Feldman, a Lyndonville Central School eighth-grader, was showing off one of the school's new Smart Classrooms. Her audience included school officials, community members, Sen. George Maziarz and Charles Nesbitt, president and commissioner of the state Tax Appeals Tribunal. After the student's third attempt to run through a Power Point program, High School Principal Kenneth Smith reassured the group. "It really does work pretty fantastic, but it's Murphy's Law," he said with a laugh.

Feldman and another student eventually took everyone on a virtual tour of intermediate algebra. Instead of dealing with the usual X and Y formula, an automated voice walked them through a problem of identifying C and P: the price of a cookie and an apple pie. It's a form of audio, visual and hands-on learning that students and faculty alike have come to appreciate, they said. "It's really helpful," 13-year-old Feldman said. "It allows for different ways of learning. And we can play it for the whole class so we can learn from each other."

The evening served as the official celebration and ribbon-cutting of two Smart Classrooms made possible by grants secured by Maziarz and Nesbitt, a former state Assemblyman. Smart classrooms contain full Internet access, wide screen projection
systems, video tools and sophisticated document cameras. This technology gives instructors the ability to bring charts, text, photos, video and audio clips, microscopic slides, and other media, from virtually anywhere in the world to students.

School Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams said it's been "a cool" pursuit since school officials began applying for grant funding last year. Being a rural community sometimes limits what students can study and have access to, she said.

Lyndonville patterned its Smart Classrooms after those found at Genesee Community College. She hopes the equipment will bridge the school and college for more fully prepared high school graduates. Having the high-tech classrooms opens up their world, she said. “It's that worldwide access that makes it so appealing.” science teacher Jared Strong said. He demonstrated how the technology helps him to teach students about forensics and fingerprints.

After talking about what the prints are and how to make them, he showed a brief video clip illustrating how to properly roll a finger in the ink. He identified three types of prints that would help single out the person who committed a simulated crime for the project. It ended with students selecting a print they thought belonged to the culprit.

Four fingerprints were projected onto a large screen. By tapping lightly on the print they chose, students got a message of congratulations. They also saw a mugshot of their principal, the alleged criminal. "They have a lot of fun with that," Strong said. "Our ability to access Internet is key. I used a page of video from the Internet ... and autoformatting, a digital camera and a scanner."

Both the science and math demos made Nesbitt a bit nostalgic for his early political days. Claiming he was a terrible speaker, he made a video and presented it on the campaign trail. People would go from being "nowhere" to all of a sudden paying attention to the screen, he said. It's a habit from early childhood days, he said. "I think we're all conditioned to pay attention to what's up there on the screen or even on TV," he said. "I think this is amazing. It incorporates all forms of learning, audio and visual, for students. The first step is imagining what should be done."

Maziarz, who got $60,000 in grants and partnered with Nesbitt for $47,500 more, said Lyndonville's goal of 100 percent student success is achievable. This technology will ensure that, he said. "It gives students an opportunity to learn and prepare themselves to go on from here," he said. "There's a world of opportunity out there and it starts right here in these classrooms."

###

Publication: Batavia Daily News

Pub. Date: 9/29/06

By Joanne Beck



NEWS AND EVENTS

PreviousNext

September 29, 2006

Smart Classrooms Live Up to Their Name

LYNDONVILLE — While offering a demonstration to school and government officials Thursday, Elizabeth Feldman got an unexpected lesson. Even the latest technology can hit a snag or two. Feldman, a Lyndonville Central School eighth-grader, was showing off one of the school's new Smart Classrooms. Her audience included school officials, community members, Sen. George Maziarz and Charles Nesbitt, president and commissioner of the state Tax Appeals Tribunal. After the student's third attempt to run through a Power Point program, High School Principal Kenneth Smith reassured the group. "It really does work pretty fantastic, but it's Murphy's Law," he said with a laugh.

Feldman and another student eventually took everyone on a virtual tour of intermediate algebra. Instead of dealing with the usual X and Y formula, an automated voice walked them through a problem of identifying C and P: the price of a cookie and an apple pie. It's a form of audio, visual and hands-on learning that students and faculty alike have come to appreciate, they said. "It's really helpful," 13-year-old Feldman said. "It allows for different ways of learning. And we can play it for the whole class so we can learn from each other."

The evening served as the official celebration and ribbon-cutting of two Smart Classrooms made possible by grants secured by Maziarz and Nesbitt, a former state Assemblyman. Smart classrooms contain full Internet access, wide screen projection
systems, video tools and sophisticated document cameras. This technology gives instructors the ability to bring charts, text, photos, video and audio clips, microscopic slides, and other media, from virtually anywhere in the world to students.

School Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams said it's been "a cool" pursuit since school officials began applying for grant funding last year. Being a rural community sometimes limits what students can study and have access to, she said.

Lyndonville patterned its Smart Classrooms after those found at Genesee Community College. She hopes the equipment will bridge the school and college for more fully prepared high school graduates. Having the high-tech classrooms opens up their world, she said. “It's that worldwide access that makes it so appealing.” science teacher Jared Strong said. He demonstrated how the technology helps him to teach students about forensics and fingerprints.

After talking about what the prints are and how to make them, he showed a brief video clip illustrating how to properly roll a finger in the ink. He identified three types of prints that would help single out the person who committed a simulated crime for the project. It ended with students selecting a print they thought belonged to the culprit.

Four fingerprints were projected onto a large screen. By tapping lightly on the print they chose, students got a message of congratulations. They also saw a mugshot of their principal, the alleged criminal. "They have a lot of fun with that," Strong said. "Our ability to access Internet is key. I used a page of video from the Internet ... and autoformatting, a digital camera and a scanner."

Both the science and math demos made Nesbitt a bit nostalgic for his early political days. Claiming he was a terrible speaker, he made a video and presented it on the campaign trail. People would go from being "nowhere" to all of a sudden paying attention to the screen, he said. It's a habit from early childhood days, he said. "I think we're all conditioned to pay attention to what's up there on the screen or even on TV," he said. "I think this is amazing. It incorporates all forms of learning, audio and visual, for students. The first step is imagining what should be done."

Maziarz, who got $60,000 in grants and partnered with Nesbitt for $47,500 more, said Lyndonville's goal of 100 percent student success is achievable. This technology will ensure that, he said. "It gives students an opportunity to learn and prepare themselves to go on from here," he said. "There's a world of opportunity out there and it starts right here in these classrooms."

###

Publication: Batavia Daily News

Pub. Date: 9/29/06

By Joanne Beck
Audio Video - audiovisual and broadcast integrated systems