The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act seeks to help schools with funding issues secure the latest in educational technology. As a result, educators across the country are receiving federal grants to help them connect their students to the technological age.
According to the Marion Star, a high school in Marion, Ohio recently received a $250,000 grant to improve its computing technology.
The federal funds will benefit the school's Freshmen Select initiative, which is intended to help incoming first year students who may struggle in their transition to high school. Each student enrolled in the program will be given access to a personal computer. Furthermore, they will be taught how to use a variety of computer applications, such as a program that teaches users how to perform calculations on Texas Instruments Nspire Windows-based graphing calculators.
Technology has long been a tool used by educators to enhance their students' learning experiences. Teachers looking to further utilize electronic education aids may want to try a digital whiteboard, computer education programs and an HDMI projector.
The teachers of Harding Marion have bought into the system, and they hope their students do too.
"The teacher doesn't always have to be the center of learning. Whoever does the work does the learning. The students have the buy-in because of the technology," said Harding's Social studies teacher Kathy Swanger.
