The Fayette County Board of Education Monday night got a glimpse into the future of learning. And it didn’t take a crystal ball to see that the future of the emerging 21st Century Classroom initiative is centered in technology.

Though the 21st Century initiative had its preliminary beginnings a couple of years ago with items such as interactive whiteboards installed in some classrooms, the next three years will see a continuing increase in a variety of technology-based hardware and software instructional aids funded by the school system’s 1-cent sales tax.

The 21st Century initiative was a significant feature of the technology needs tied to the passage of the 1-cent tax that was narrowly approved by voters in November 2008.

Technology Services Director Curt Cearly and the presenters at the meeting at the beginning of their demonstration Monday night handed out what looked like remote control units, called student responders, to board members and many of those in the audience. Next up was an impromptu lesson in fourth-grade geometry, a sample subject chosen for the exercise.

The “teacher” held a larger pad that, like the ones held by students, is operated through radio-frequency rather than the line-of-sight operation customary with ordinary remote control units. Linked wirelessly with the students and aided by the use of voice amplification and a projector attached to the instructor’s computer, the teacher can display an endless variety of math or other exercise materials on a large screen.

Controlling the flow of information, the teacher gets immediate feedback from students as they enter their answers on their responders and that information is displayed, including anonymously, on the screen. The number of correct and incorrect answers are immediately known. Teacher feedback to the class is immediate.

Essentially, an increasing number of software learning programs are being produced to help facilitate learning. The technology system is designed to make student progress assessments easier, to provide the ability to track and analyze that progress and to facilitate better teaching and re-teaching, Cearly said.

One or more components of the 21st Century initiative are already installed in approximately 500 classrooms. Cearly said fully outfitting all of the school system’s 1,500 classroom slated for the technology could take up to three years.

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