Creating a media-rich classroom.

In the past, trying to put together different pieces of classroom technology was a headache for educators and technology administrators. This often caused them to keep equipment separate rather than suffer through integration and compatibility problems. Now, because of advances in the equipment, as well as districts' familiarity with how it can be used, the pieces are coming together.

Dietrich School, in Dietrich (Idaho) School District #314, is a good example of how projectors, interactive whiteboards and computers are beginning to be used as an integrated whole. The K-12 school is small, with about 15 classrooms. Teachers use a wired whiteboard from SMART Technologies that allows them to tap into the Internet while speaking. A projector puts the images from the classroom's computer onto the interactive board that can function like a giant computer screen.

Students use the setup to do presentations, and the result has been more than gratifying, according to Ryan Smith, who handles the school's technology and teaches business classes. "As a teacher, I think it's a fabulous aid for the classroom. Every teacher here uses them every day, and the students are excited about having them."

The system was put in place in 1998 before the technology director, J. Wanless Southwick, retired. He had seen the interactive combo at a conference, and fell in love with the idea of every classroom having a media-rich station. He applied for grants to foot the bill, which came to around $10,000 per classroom. The Albertson Foundation gave Southwick the money to wire the school.

The largest challenge to implementing the technology, Southwick says, didn't involve a single plug or wire. "We had some teachers that were computer-phobic," he notes. "They were apprehensive because they weren't sure if it would work with their teaching style. But with regular training, and a weekly staff meeting where people shared their success stories with the technology, even the computer-phobic teachers came around."

Recently more school districts are inquiring about the system, says Nancy Knowlton, president of SMART Technologies. Educators are beginning to realize how AV equipment and computers can be successfully wedded, she says. "In the past few years especially, as teachers are more trained in basic technology, these kinds of products are being far better utilized."