AUBURN - While much of the proposed capital project in the Auburn Enlarged City School District relates to fixing up aging facilities, a significant portion of the project is also devoted to technology upgrades that might not be familiar to many voters.
District officials are hoping that voters will approve a capital project that would include more than $3 million of “smart” technology updates across the district. The proposed technologies include interactive whiteboards, document cameras, LCD projectors and ceiling mounts, and network switches, said district technology coordinator Sandy Wagner.
“Our students live in a media-rich world,” said Wagner. “Students feel like when they come to school, they need to power down from how they live normally.”
For the district's elementary schools to be equipped with the proposed technologies, the total cost, based on the district's facilities plan, is an estimated $1,209,897. For the middle schools, the total would be $1,138,216, according to the plan. The high school would be equipped for an estimated cost of $878,392, while the Harriet Tubman Administrative Building would cost $36,234 to equip.
The total cost of outfitting the district with smart technologies is $3,262,739. This total does not include wireless Internet for the middle and high schools, which is being proposed at a total cost of about $945,423, according to the district's facilities plan.
Wagner said a major issue in the district is that only some classrooms are now outfitted with ceiling-mounted LCD projectors. He said this equipment allows a teacher to work from one computer and share educational content with students.
According to the district, ceiling-mounted LCD projectors that are connected to the teachers' computers and a pull-down screen on which to display content allows an entire class to view the same content on a large, high resolution display. Teachers can show students almost any educational content, such as material from the teacher's computer, the district or BOCES network, the Internet, television and DVDs.
Wagner pointed out that the VCRs and TVs the schools use are older, and some of them are not functional. Much of today's educational content is not available on VHS tapes, so rather than purchasing new models of old technology, the district is trying to purchase the latest in visual and audio equipment. Computers have DVD players and most educational materials are now on DVD.
This technology would also promote the safety of students and increase equipment life, as there would be no cables running along the floor to be tripped over or stepped on, said Wagner.
George Cosentino, middle school technology staff developer, said students can see what a teacher is doing in real time with an interactive whiteboard. This means a teacher can be writing or drawing a lesson and students can see him/her working through a math problem or writing haiku poetry. Students can also edit documents as a group from their own computers, rather than having to crowd in around one screen.
Document cameras are the modern equivalent of overhead projectors, which can only display a transparency. Document cameras can project an image of anything - even opaque pages and 3-D objects. Students can be shown pages from books, magazines and newspaper articles, and can be shown objects like fossilized trilobites and small models of chemical compounds.
District board of education vice president Sam Giangreco named another advantage of having the technology put in schools. He said teachers will be able to teach with the same equipment in any room in the district if classrooms are standardized with the proposed updates.
“Everybody will have a central station in their classrooms,” said Giangreco. “Everything will be uniform.”
Besides the technological advantages the proposed updates would bring, teachers, technology staff and board members believe the students will benefit holistically from the proposed upgrades.
Giangreco believes that by using gadgets students are familiar with, the district can curb dropouts by increasing student engagement.
And Kathy O'Neill, high school technology staff developer, said students need to be up to speed on today's technology in order to do well after leaving high school.
“We're a global society,” said O'Neill. “Our students need to compete in that society. Unless our students are prepared, they won't be on an equal footing with other people.”
High school English teacher Deb Rielly said having a ceiling-mounted LCD projector that connects to her computer helps her reach her students.
“This changed the way I teach because I can project anything to students,” Rielly said. “It engages the kids. We have to live in their world.”
Rielly said she uses the technology to get the students ready for their futures.
“If I'm supposed to prepare them to compete in this world,” she said, “I'd better be using this stuff.”
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net
Vote is Tuesday
The vote for the Auburn Enlarged City School District $17 million capital improvement project will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Seward Elementary School, 52 Metcalf Drive, Auburn.
“Our students live in a media-rich world,” said Wagner. “Students feel like when they come to school, they need to power down from how they live normally.”
For the district's elementary schools to be equipped with the proposed technologies, the total cost, based on the district's facilities plan, is an estimated $1,209,897. For the middle schools, the total would be $1,138,216, according to the plan. The high school would be equipped for an estimated cost of $878,392, while the Harriet Tubman Administrative Building would cost $36,234 to equip.
The total cost of outfitting the district with smart technologies is $3,262,739. This total does not include wireless Internet for the middle and high schools, which is being proposed at a total cost of about $945,423, according to the district's facilities plan.
Wagner said a major issue in the district is that only some classrooms are now outfitted with ceiling-mounted LCD projectors. He said this equipment allows a teacher to work from one computer and share educational content with students.
According to the district, ceiling-mounted LCD projectors that are connected to the teachers' computers and a pull-down screen on which to display content allows an entire class to view the same content on a large, high resolution display. Teachers can show students almost any educational content, such as material from the teacher's computer, the district or BOCES network, the Internet, television and DVDs.
Wagner pointed out that the VCRs and TVs the schools use are older, and some of them are not functional. Much of today's educational content is not available on VHS tapes, so rather than purchasing new models of old technology, the district is trying to purchase the latest in visual and audio equipment. Computers have DVD players and most educational materials are now on DVD.
This technology would also promote the safety of students and increase equipment life, as there would be no cables running along the floor to be tripped over or stepped on, said Wagner.
George Cosentino, middle school technology staff developer, said students can see what a teacher is doing in real time with an interactive whiteboard. This means a teacher can be writing or drawing a lesson and students can see him/her working through a math problem or writing haiku poetry. Students can also edit documents as a group from their own computers, rather than having to crowd in around one screen.
Document cameras are the modern equivalent of overhead projectors, which can only display a transparency. Document cameras can project an image of anything - even opaque pages and 3-D objects. Students can be shown pages from books, magazines and newspaper articles, and can be shown objects like fossilized trilobites and small models of chemical compounds.
District board of education vice president Sam Giangreco named another advantage of having the technology put in schools. He said teachers will be able to teach with the same equipment in any room in the district if classrooms are standardized with the proposed updates.
“Everybody will have a central station in their classrooms,” said Giangreco. “Everything will be uniform.”
Besides the technological advantages the proposed updates would bring, teachers, technology staff and board members believe the students will benefit holistically from the proposed upgrades.
Giangreco believes that by using gadgets students are familiar with, the district can curb dropouts by increasing student engagement.
And Kathy O'Neill, high school technology staff developer, said students need to be up to speed on today's technology in order to do well after leaving high school.
“We're a global society,” said O'Neill. “Our students need to compete in that society. Unless our students are prepared, they won't be on an equal footing with other people.”
High school English teacher Deb Rielly said having a ceiling-mounted LCD projector that connects to her computer helps her reach her students.
“This changed the way I teach because I can project anything to students,” Rielly said. “It engages the kids. We have to live in their world.”
Rielly said she uses the technology to get the students ready for their futures.
“If I'm supposed to prepare them to compete in this world,” she said, “I'd better be using this stuff.”
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net
Vote is Tuesday
The vote for the Auburn Enlarged City School District $17 million capital improvement project will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Seward Elementary School, 52 Metcalf Drive, Auburn.
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Post your comment - click hereThere are 4 comment(s)
tome8689 wrote on Nov 29, 2009 3:03 PM:
bill balyszak wrote on Nov 29, 2009 11:07 AM:
Just wish more people would 'vent' their views - and their votes - like you do and will.
Me too... "
justventing wrote on Nov 29, 2009 9:36 AM:
Who do you think OWNS the homes in Auburn? It’s not the children, it most definitely not the renters, it the older adults. These are the people who have worked all their lives and now most likely are on social security and fixed income. To those of you who want to vote YES on the school budget, Please answer this question “Where do you think the seniors are going to get the extra money?, Can you answer?—How’s this, why don’t you go to the home of seniors and take food out of their cupboards and off the table for starters. When your children are older and have their own home “this may be a miracle in itself” how are you going to explain why their taxes are so high? It because of parents who kept voting year after year for tax increases. I think you know how I’m going to vote Tuesday. "
tome8689 wrote on Nov 29, 2009 7:52 AM: