Recently awarded a $10,000 classroom technology grant from Honeywell and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Renee Parker, a teacher at Selinsgrove Intermediate School in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, introduced her third-grade students to their new classroom - complete with e-readers, tablet computers, a document camera and laptops, according to the Sudbury Daily Item.
A high-tech classroom that includes these types of tools, along with an interactive whiteboard, video conferencing equipment and an HDMI projector, for instance, engages students of all ages and learning styles through hands-on, interactive multimedia learning.
The grant, which Parker won through a contest to raise awareness for child safety, provides much-needed funding in a school system affected by recent budget cuts.
"It will give us more opportunity to integrate technology in the classroom and increase student awareness of safety," Parker said at the classroom's unveiling, according to the source. "My goal is for this to benefit everybody."
An experienced teacher, Parker understands the tremendous benefits advanced classroom technology can provide. Today's student is increasingly tech-savvy, and virtually every avenue of his or her life is marked in some way by technology. While traditional didactic principles still have a place in the American school system, resisting technology in the classroom can alienate a student, making him or her feel isolated in an antiquated academic environment.
