ACCESS LAB

I went to Mary G. Montgomery to view their Access Lab. Mr. Rose was very kind and showed us a room filled with electronics from a cabinet filled with laptops and two plasma screens mounted on the wall. He told us about internet courses taught in that classroom and how his AP students have access to courses not taught in the school. This allows the students to become better prepared for college study. He showed us the ELMO they have in the class and VCS or video conferencing system in the classroom. There were two cameras and Mr. Rose had a condensing mike so that he could talk at a normal level and still be heard in classes being broadcast elsewhere. Mr. Rose controls everything from a master panel. This was very neat to see. I wish that I had had an opportunity to use a lab like this when I was in high school.

I hope as a teacher, I will have the opportunity to be a part of an access lab in the school where I will be teaching. It really does change the dynamics of the classroom. Students are no longer restricted to the curriculum offered at their school. Instead, they can reach out to other schools in other states and countries. Students can learn from classes taught anywhere in the world.

These labs are expensive but I don't what kind of price we can put on the educational advantage our children can have with a lab like this. We have to find the funding necessary to keep these labs working and running strong for the future.