The classrooms
of the future will have technology most adults now could
have only dreamt about as a child.
Televisions, overhead projectors and VCRs will all be
things of the past as they are replaced by LCD
projectors, ceiling mounted speakers, 100-inch viewing
screens, computers, DVD players and document cameras.
For many Rocklin classrooms, the future is already here.
These so-called "smart classrooms" have been springing
up around the Rocklin Unified School District classrooms
as the district moves to upgrade technology to improve
learning.
"It's amazing how rapidly the teacher can reach a new
topic," said Bob Walatka, whose child is a fourth-grade
student at Valley View Elementary. "It's a very, very
powerful tool to help the kids learn more effectively."
Walatka recently wrote a check to Valley View
Elementary to provide all the necessary funding to
convert Mike Patten's fourth-grade class into a smart
classroom.
"Fourth grade is a really big jump for the kids,"
Walatka said. "We saw the need and just determined we
will fill that need."
Walatka's money helped pay for surround sound in the
classroom, a large pull-down projection screen, a desk
top computer that can access the Discovery Channel or
any other type of educational programming and a
projector called ELMO, which allows the teacher to set
anything down and project it onto a screen.
"This is a real way to show God's love, in a way that is
tangible and not just talk," Walatka said. "It is a
great way to support these underpaid and
under-appreciated teachers and to help give the kids
everything they need."
"Before I was using an overhead projector and very small
screen," Patten said. "This is way, way, way ahead of
anything we had."
|
Mike Patten teaches
using an LCD projector and 100-inch projection screen at
Valley View Elementary. Pico Van Houtryve/The PLacer
herald |
