Amphi Foundation of Tucson, AZ: 21st Century Classroom Technology Initiative

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those
who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Alvin Toffler, writer and futurist

SMART Boards are only the beginning

Discussion has now turned to, what next?

But what a great beginning! In January 2007, the Amphi Foundation, through a generous grant from BHP Copper Inc., launched the 21C Classroom Technology Initiative to provide Amphi students and teachers with durable classroom technologies, beginning with SMART Boards.

We've fully funded one for each of Amphi's 21 schools, matched donations from individuals and PTO's for 20 more, and as of the start of the 2007 - '08 school year, are gearing up for Round 4.

The SMART Board is an electronic white board that significantly improves learning by linking computers and the Internet with interactive, touch-screen technology.

A teacher prepares a lesson on her computer, projects it onto the board, and guides students through the material by touching on the images and the toolbars. Even cooler, teachers and students can also access the Internet to incorporate additional information into the lesson.

Students, in turn, utilize the SMART Board to demonstrate their grasp of the subject material, ask and answer questions, and enhance their classroom presentations.

Our own experience supports the research we based this equally smart decision on; students become more engaged with both the teacher and the material, are thus more interested in the subject and motivated to learn, and as a result, retain more of what they learn.

All of Amphi's schools are qualified to receive funding under the 21st C. Classroom Technology Initiative. There is no needs-based formula. As the "knowledge gap" grows ever wider, an ironically equalizing effect is that technological "know-how" and "know-not" are becoming as important in determining a high school graduate's potential as socioeconomic "have" and "have-not". So the most logical course is to first identify a needed technology and then ensure that every student will have access to it.

The decision on which classrooms to equip rests with school principals, in consultation with their staffs and teachers, who know best which grades or subjects will benefit most and which teachers are the most ready and willing to learn the technology and incorporate it into their classrooms.

At this stage, we're matching dollars donated for additional SMART Boards until the demand is satisfied, to be determined when principals are satisfied that enough classrooms have been equipped to provide access to as many of their students as possible or feasible.

To Sponsor a Classroom

The Foundation will match 50% of the cost per unit, or $2,000.00 of the current cost of $4,000.00*. This includes the SMART Board and projector, ceiling mount, electrical set-up, and installation.

Individuals, businesses, PTO's, and other organizations interested in purchasing a SMART Board for a particular school should contact the Foundation at 520-696-5147. We'll answer your questions and put you in touch with the school's principal.

SMART Boards in educational settings >
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills >
Request a brochure >

* Please be advised that costs may vary, up or down, depending on volume pricing, changes in installation costs and other factors.

What's next?

Very soon, we will decide on "the next new thing". We're already seeing where personal computing is headed in the SMART Board's touch-screen technology and integration of Internet access. In classrooms with only one or two computers, this interactivity extends personal computing to every student. Whatever comes next, it should meet the following criteria:

• Durability. Will it stand the 'reasonable test' of time? Every type of organization, but especially a tax-supported school district, needs to be mindful of a technology's lifespan, which can be very short. So we've sought, and will continue to seek advice and opinions of people who are engaged in highly technical professions or businesses to find out which technologies, in their view, will most likely deliver "the biggest bang for the buck" over a longer haul than next year. It's an imperfect choice but does weed out 'solutions' we should not invest in.

• Usability. Is it user-friendly? A technology may be terrific in one setting but inappropriate in the classroom if even the most tech-savvy teacher would find it especially difficult to learn or to use as an effective, everyday teaching tool.

• Adoptability. Provided a technology is durable and user-friendly, will the users, i.e. students and/or teachers, actually use it? In other words, once the early-adopters have embraced it and word spreads, will their positive experience inspire others to want it in their classrooms?

• Equitability. Our goal is to put worthwhile technologies within reach of every Amphi student, in the short term and over time, as their skills and needs progress, grade to grade, and as their subjects require, regardless of a school's apparent socio-economic status.

In addition to classroom tools, there may be occasion to evaluate investing in technology infrastructure. However, assisting the school district in meeting its infrastructure needs is not under consideration by the Foundation at this time, although, as everything else, that could change at any time.