Yesterday the Pickerington Board of Education approved a major audio visual project that will allow all of the schools to have mounted projectors and sound reinforcement systems in the classrooms.

The project that will take place over the summer of 2015 includes the technological upgrades for Pickerington High School North, Pickerington Lakeview Junior High School, Diley Middle School, Harmon Middle School, Heritage Elementary, and Tussing Elementary.

The sound reinforcement system that was approved is a unique innovative piece of technology.  Each of the upgraded rooms will have a FrontRow Juno sound tower mounted in the classroom.

The Juno sound tower will be connected to the DVD player and teacher computer. In addition the Juno can capture voice recordings and screen captures (perfect for those teachers flipping their classroom). Also there is access for additional devices to be connected to the front of the Juno.

The Juno sound tower is also a sound reinforcement system, which includes teacher microphone, student hand held microphone and drop-in chargers.

Current research has proven an increase in student academic performance due to the voice amplification system.

• A 2002 Brigham Young University study found that standardized test scores for fourth and fifth graders rose 10% to 15% in every subject at a Utah public school the year after amplification began, though no other changes were made.
• Carol Flexer’s study (2002) published in The Hearing Journal, “The benefits are grounded in biology. The brain’s auditory networks are not fully developed until about age 15, so kids require a quieter environment and a louder signal than do adults when absorbing spoken information.”
• Flexer found that special-education referrals are fewer in classrooms that are wired for sound, compared with ordinary classrooms, where background noise and distractions compete with the teacher’s voice.

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And One More Thing…………..

In the summer of 2015 we will have all of our schools with mounted projectors and sound systems installed, so the question is what is next, how teachers use this with their students??

The answer is Airserver.  In the summer of 2014 PLSD purchased numerous iPads for each of the buildings.  Airserver is the connection between the iPads and projectors/sound systems.  Airserver allows up to four iPads at a time to be mirrored through the projector onto the board or screen.  With the massive amounts of apps available for the iPad each student can now experience an interactive instructional device with the ability to project onto the board or screen.  By projecting student work teachers can lead discussion in the progress of student work and have ongoing formative assessments.

We are in processing of purchasing one copy of Airserver for each teacher in the district.  Airserver will be installed on each teacher’s MacBook Pro.  The laptop needs to be connected to the projector and AirPlay must be activated.  Teacher will have access to Airserver in January via the Self-Service app on their computer.

More Information about AirServer

Using AirServer in Education