Students from Gregory Elementary have been practicing for their first newscast of the school year in a new production studio.
"Some people don't have a broadcast room and I think I'm lucky to have one," said 5th grader Sharon Harris.
New camera equipment is just the beginning. "Now instead of teaching science at nine, math at ten, social studies- we integrate the academic subjects and integrate math during reading time, but also in all of that, there's technology for every single subject," described teacher Joanne Jones.
"At other schools you usually don't do all this stuff, but at Gregory you have lots of stuff to do about technology," said 5th grader Ana Williams.
New interactive white boards will also function as a projector and television where they can watch their morning news show. Instead of a compass, students will learn how to read maps and follow directions using GPS devices. Miss Jones said technology like this enhances students' learning.
"Books are wonderful, we'll continue to need them, we'll continue to use them, but whenever you can bring in something that helps the children be interactive and can get them moving and engaged, then technology is a wonderful tool for that," said Miss Jones.
This year, students in several elementary schools in New Hanover County will be using the interactive white boards, or smartboards. They will also work on collaborative projects with students in other countries through e-mail and Skype.
Local schools going Hi Tech
Well it certainly doesn't appear there is a shortage of funds when money can be spent on items like this. I thought we were having problems paying teachers.