Junior high and high schools in Quincy, Illinois, are using funding received from the federal government to invest in new technology and bring their classrooms into the 21st century, the Quincy Herald-Whig recently reported.
As part of a $200,000 grant from the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, 12 classrooms at Quincy High and Quincy Junior High are each sporting new portable netbooks, an interactive whiteboard, a classroom projector and an array of other technological devices.
Quincy School District's technology director Jody Cooper said the technology has enabled the district to create a new learning environment that engages the students and encourages them to be more involved with the lessons.
"It also allows them to access information they never would have had access to before just because now they have the internet at their fingertips," Cooper told the Herald-Whig. "It's an exciting thing. It provides not only for 21st century instruction, but it will also improve the technology skills of the students who are using it."
The Enhancing Education Through Technology is part of the U.S. Department of Education's mission to promote student achievement through the use of technology. Last year, the department awarded more than $260 million in grants.
