Manatee County schools receive techy upgrade

Manatee County School District uses grant to upgrade technology available to middle school students.

By Amanda Sebastiano
| 12:00 p.m. December 22, 2015

Kayla Morris uses her iPhone and laptop during class at Nolan Middle.

East County
News

During her sixth-period Microsoft computer class, sixth-grader Kayla Morris splits her time between her iPhone and her laptop.

Armed with technology, the student at R. Dan Nolan Middle School uses her cell phone as backup when the school's internet isn't working fast enough and she has to do research for a project.

"It's easy to just Google things I need to know for class," Morris said.

Like her classmates, she's grown up using computers and that trend isn't about to change.

As schools around the country incorporate the newest technology into the classroom, the Manatee County School District has attempted to stay ahead of the trend by providing students with up-to-date tools, such as iPads, laptops and software programs that translate other languages into English.

On Dec. 8, the school board approved the expenditure of a $976,385 Digital Classrooms Grant from the state's Department of Education to keep pace with expanding technology.

Meet the future

The Manatee County School District wants to upgrade its classroom technology with a nearly $1 million grant it has secured from the state's Department of Education. Among the items being considered are:

Clear Touch 5075H+ Interactive Panels:

The devices are a unique spin on chalkboard meets television. Boards are touchscreen and they connect to monitors for clearer, large-scale viewing. Users can maneuver stylus pens to "draw" on the screen.

Boxlight Labdisc All-in-One

Labdisc has a GPS and it can measure temperatures, pH levels and other environmental specifics for projects involving plant growth, weather change and pollution, among others. Labdisc is ideal for science classes, with up to 14 wireless sensors built into a single compact device. The device uses Bluetooth communication between the data logger and the computer, with a single wireless transmission for up to 14 sensors, reducing radio interference and eliminating the need for costly transmitters built into every sensor.

Digital microscope:

A digital microscope that can capture and record images and videos, offers drawing and painting tools and time-lapse video. The microscope magnifies objects more than traditional microscopes and captures and displays images in real time. DVD players, TV monitors and computers are all compatible with the microscope.

Epson 595 Interactive Short Throw Projector:

This projector allows students to share and project their work from multiple devices, such as cell phones. The Interactive Short Throw Projector emits a white board that allows users to draw, using certain electronic pens, on any wall.

InVision Access Table:

The table is designed for classroom activities or for meetings. The table can change heights and it has cutouts to fasten computers, televisions and other electronics directly to the table, for up-close viewing. Tables are scratch and impact-resistant, measure 48 inches-by-60 inches and are available in a range of colors.

"Today's kids were born and are growing up in the age of technology," said Cynthia Saunders, the deputy superintendent for instructional services. "But we're not using technology just to use it. It's for educational purposes and to prepare them for those online courses they might take at a college or university, or for their future careers."

As part of the Digital Classrooms Plan, also known as the Innovative Spaces Project, Nolan and middle schools countywide will receive a revamp of technology in one classroom per school. Some of those model classrooms will be available for tours Feb. 1.

Haile, Lincoln and King middle schools are the tour sites, which will show teachers more innovative classroom, Saunders said. District officials hope to have the new technology in place by April, so teachers can start learning how to use the equipment before summer break and then can attend training sessions throughout the summer.

Rather than giving an across-the-board, dollar amount to every school, the money will be distributed based on need and the type of technology purchased.

Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said middle schools were chosen to receive the upgrade, because there are only 10 as compared to 33 elementary schools.

Teachers were required to submit applications to be considered for the project.

"Some teachers feel more comfortable using technology than others," Saunders said.

Do u no cursive, LOL?

With the state's increased emphasis on test scores and students using the latest technology, what becomes of the traditional classroom and topics, such as cursive, that have been fading away from syllabi?

Manatee County still offers cursive courses, Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said. But the level at which that topic is taught has changed.

"Rather than spending months and months on that lesson, we'll spend a month or two," Greene said. "The extent of time spent learning certain topics is what has changed. It's not so much what students are learning, it's how long they're learning it."

Finding ways to introduce outdated subject staples in a more innovative way, while also bridging the gap between teachers and students' technology skills, is a balancing act.

Greene said more of a disconnect than ever exists between educators and their students, because of students' increased use of social media and other technologies that the faculty members don't know how to use.

Providing education for the faculty education and allowing the students to instruct the educators about new devices, applications and networks might help improve that relationship, Greene said.

"Students of today are working in a different direction than their teachers did when they were students," Greene said. "Adults value face-to-face conversation and students now want everything fast, and they use technology to communicate with each other. Bringing in more technology will help fix that divisiveness that has widened throughout the years."

Kyle Holbrook, a Braden River Middle technology teacher, received a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) grant last year from AT&T and purchased a 3D printer and laser engraver.

He also would like to secure more 3D printers, which melt plastic to create objects that students design.

"Math teachers could use the printers to better explain Pythagorean theorem," Holbrook said. "The printers can create landscapes and show dimensions, which could really be incorporated into any subject."

Ahead of the curve

Other teachers also are excited to have access to newer technology. Promethean boards are interactive, touchscreen, white boards that have been replacing traditional chalkboards over the last few years. Nolan Middle already has a few of the boards, Assistant Principal Tamara Cornwell said.

She'd like to see more of the boards, while also replacing some of the projector systems with more advanced ones that can hang from the ceiling rather than taking up desk space, she said.

When Cornwell started at Nolan Middle eight years ago, the school had a need for technology but no money to bring those dreams to life.

In 2013, she spearheaded the school's Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) campaign, which allowed students to bring laptops, iPads, cell phones and other technology to school to assist them in assignments.

"I noticed kids were way more engaged when they could use technology," Cornwell said. "When they come to school, phones turn from communication to education."

The school district would like to assure that students have equal access to technology. The Manatee County School District has revamped Nolan and other schools with newer computers. Every student doesn't have a new laptop to use, but the district is working on bettering classroom technology one grant at a time.

"We're not where we need to be, yet," Greene said. "Overall, its been a long time since we refreshed our technology."