Project: No Boundaries
Submitted by: King Philip Technology Committee
For any school that is trying to ensure student and teacher access to technology tools, the King Philip Technology Committee would like to recommend a set of AlphaSmarts and a mobile cart. Because of the Lighthouse Grant, the difficult task of managing limited resources has been greatly eased. Although King Philip has only one computer lab, which is constantly booked, the addition of the AlphaSmarts means that students who need access to word processing can use the less expensive, portable keyboards rather than networked computers with Internet access.
Because there were already several AlphaSmarts on each team that could be put together temporarily, we were able to run a pilot program to test whether or not a classroom set of keyboards with a mobile cart would be a good addition to our program. After a very successful pilot program run through language arts classes, we thought that we could predict the most likely adopters of this technology. The Language Arts teachers are certainly taking advantage of the keyboards; writing poems, journal entries, and literature responses are just some of the uses that students are finding for the AlphaSmarts.
It turns out that the keyboards are also perfect for recording lab notes in science classes. Cooperative work can often be more productive if each group has a keyboard. Sometimes teachers borrow only the number of keyboards they need rather than the whole cart, which means that often students all over the building will be using them.
The compact design, portability, and relative indestructibility ensure that students can work anyplace (and in virtually any position.) The very simple operation instructions make this a low stress technology use for every teacher. Our goal of giving students and teachers access to a technology tool that would increase productivity and help to manage resources has been met. The Lighthouse Technology Grant continues to make an impact on the middle school program.
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