Paul Spoor is excited, and for good reason.
The Brandon School District will take a major step toward advancements in technology, thanks to the recent bond extension voters approved in May.
And Spoor, the director of technology for the past seven years, will spearhead the process to upgrade the district.
‘We need to create an environment that will stay up-to-date, and allow the students better education and greater preparation,? said Spoor.
By the start of the 2006-07 school year in September, an anticipated 317 desktop computers will make their way to the district. An additional 16 portable carts, each containing 13 laptops, will be paired up and placed in each school within the district, for classroom usage.
At a cost of $600,481, the school board approved the purchase of 317 desktops and 208 laptops from Sehi Computer Products of Rochester Hills at the July 10 meeting.
In all, a total of 1,500 desktop computers will be replaced over the next year.
School officials say just two years ago the district was still using computers equipped with Windows 95; and last school year, the school computers split between Windows 98 and Windows 2000. All the new desktops and laptops will come with Windows XP software, the most advanced software Microsoft currently offers. The district will advance to the Windows Vista, the next generation operating system, within the 2007 school year.
Spoor is currently envisioning a plan to set up a five-year cycle, to annually replace 20 percent of the computers within the district.
In addition to replacing the older systems, more computers will be available to students and staff.
‘Since the community helps to pay for the technology, I try to keep the systems in the district as long as possible,? said Spoor. ‘That is why last time computers were taken away, they were donated to the (Edna Burton) Senior Center.?
‘I want to find a way to impact education, I want to change teaching, make an environment where students want to be in class, but also assist the teachers. The concept of the ‘smart class? does exactly that,? said Spoor.
Additional technology in the district includes the recent creation of a smart classroom, at Harvey Swanson Elementary. Some of the features of the class include: a smart board as opposed to a chalk board, that allows computer interaction; two microphones with surrounding speakers, so that the teacher, as well as students, do not need to shout to be heard; a video projector, as opposed to a TV, which allows the material to be seen throughout the classroom; and also a Doc Cam, which is like an overhead projector that can display not just writing, but three dimensional objects as well.
Spoor hopes that with time, after all the building renovations are completed, all the classrooms will be ‘smart classes.?