The Konocti Unified School District is installing “Promethean Activclassroom” components into 14 classrooms district wide.
“It turns learning into a very interactive and sharing experience between teachers and their students,” said sales consultant Gene Warner during a Wednesday, Aug. 3 presentation before the Konocti school board.
Activclassroom interactive components include a ceiling-mounted digital projector that transmits images from a notebook computer onto a wall-mounted whiteboard. The Activclassroom software includes various lesson plans that combine moving footage, words and images.
Hand-held “Activotes” allow students to make multiple-choice selections that are recorded via radio waves and can be instantly displayed. “Activslates” with accompanying pens allow interaction with the whiteboard directly from students” seats or from anywhere in the classroom. A combo DVD/VCR player with a TV tuner inside eliminates the need for a television set by using the whiteboard”s 78-inch screen.
Warner said additional materials can be found at Promethean”s Web site, www.prometheanworld.com. Promethean”s partner in integration is Logical Choices Technologies.
Billingual and ESL Director Rosella Geck noted that two classrooms at each elementary school will be outfitted with Promethean technology. Classrooms will also be integrated at Oak Hill Middle School, Lower Lake High School and W.C. Carl? Continuation High School. A total of 14 classrooms will receive Promethean technology at first, with additional classrooms added as funding becomes available.
“First, we have to build infrastructure,” Geck said when asked about a timeline for installing the Promethean technology. “We”ve got a bid this week of about $13,000 for wiring.” Geck added that whiteboards and peripherals for the 14 classrooms will cost $128,000 with the money coming from her department.
A presentation by Kristyn Leigh Freeman, regarding the Konocti Community Day program, afforded a trial run of Activclassroom components. With the assistance of Warner, or “Merlin,” as Freeman respectfully called him, she simultaneously demonstrated Promethean technology and the KCD operating plan. Konocti Community Day is set to open Aug. 14 and serve sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students who have a history of at-risk behaviors.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
