Smart Classes link student teachers with area school children

The College of Education is rising to meet the changing needs of educators in California with the creation and use of Smart Classrooms at California State University Sacramento and selected elementary schools in the surrounding communities.

When the California legislature mandated that all teacher training institutions model technology integration into their methodology courses by the year 2000, CSUS rose to the occasion and created a unique approach.

Smart Classrooms set-up on the campus are designed to mirror classrooms set up in elementary schools where student teachers are placed. Students first learn teaching techniques utilizing the technology in their classes at CSUS, then use those techniques at student teaching sites, said Betsy Kean, College of Education faculty advisor.

A “Smart Classroom” is simply a classroom set up with a teacher workstation, using a Power Macintosh computer equipped with projection equipment, and approximately six student workstations. In such a classroom, instructors can demonstrate different points and uses of technology during the class and students can immediately put the techniques to use. Funding for the program has come from private corporate grants, including Apple Computers, MCI and Sprint.

“Students don’t have to hear about something in the classroom during lecture, then go elsewhere to try the technique,” said Marco Martinez, information computer technical assistant. “It’s an additional resource to professors.”

One of the participating elementary schools is Kennedy Elementary in Sacramento. A grant from Apple Computers, in partnership with CSUS and Kennedy Elementary School, allowed the school to implement a curriculum project for use by their fourth grade classes.

There, teachers use the Smart Classrooms technology in teaching California history. Students are able to use the computer technology to enhance their studies and projects.

One specific project Kean discussed involves fourth grade students learning first hand about the Sacramento Gold Rush era. Students take a digital camera with them to document an overnight living experience at Sutter’s Fort. Then, they use the images they capture as part of the learning project.

Other ways students use the Smart Classroom technology at Kennedy are by using graphing software to plot their own progress in math scores and a project called “All About Me” where students are introduced to computers and to each other.

The CSUS College of Education is one of California’s largest resources of credentialed elementary and secondary schoolteachers, according to the California Department of Education. It has also become a pioneer in the use of technology to enhance teaching methods in primary schools.