Classroom Technology Improvements
Projectors for Middle and Upper School
Teachers have used projectors at MPA for several years. We have discovered, through trial and error, that to fully take advantage of all of the potential of using a projector in the classroom, the projector should be mounted. Teachers with mounted projectors experience fewer issues with room arrangement and board glare. This spring, several teachers have approached us with requests to mount the projectors in their classrooms for next year. By mounting the 5-6 projectors that were requested, we not only will be able to fulfill the requests but also recycle the unmounted projectors into rooms without or with limited access to projectors. Our long-standing goal is to equip most of the classrooms with projectors in order to allow teachers to take advantage of the unique “teachable moments” that using projectors would be able to deliver. Currently we have approximately 17 mounted projectors out of about 40 total projectors.
Training for Faculty
Targeted IT training for all faculty would have the immediate effect of broadening and improving the use of technologies in the classroom. As with many non-profits and businesses, there are considerable untapped capacities embedded in the tools currently available to our teachers requiring only the time and expertise to be shown how to make maximum use of those tools. The proposed allotment for faculty training would include a per/teacher allowance and a small fund for designing the training sessions. MPA academic technology staff would identify outside and/or design training sessions and opportunities for all faculty, who would coordinate the use of their allotted dollars with those academic tech staff and divisional supervisors.
