"Using the microphone in my kindergarten classroom has been a game changer. It makes a huge difference with the engagement piece when all of my students can hear me clearly,” said Radio Park Kindergarten Teacher Cheryl Isola about the newest technology addition to her classroom.

The district recently invested in new technology to make remote learning more effective during the pandemic; but the new items will also be used long-term. Teachers are receiving either external computer monitors and/or voice amplifying microphones thanks, in part, to a $50,000 grant from the Education Foundation. The Mardi Lowry McDonough Student Opportunity Grant Program funded half of the Education Foundation’s total contribution.

The initial need for the equipment is being driven primarily due to the pandemic and the hybrid teaching model. The monitors allow teachers to extend their visible displays to achieve the additional space and support remote teaching while eliminating impacts to the students. The microphones are working to amplify their voices with the current social distancing and mask requirements.

Particularly when teachers are in the dual model of instruction, with both in person and remote students, having two monitors is extremely helpful. Teachers can use one monitor to support their Google Meeting and see their students and the other monitor as an instructional tool where they share slides, for example.

In the future, the monitors will continue to be used either by the teachers in new models or repurposed to support updating equipment in areas like shared technology labs, libraries, etc. The same is true of the microphones.
Teachers say the new equipment immediately made a difference.

"The microphone has been a life saver for me,” said Emily Herring, a librarian at Radio Park. “My remote and in person students can more easily hear and understand me because I can speak at a normal volume.”
Strong community support for the Education Foundation is making important investments like this possible. Thank you for your generosity!