Sept. 1, 2005

Moorestown Friends teachers receive training in the use of an interactive whiteboard.

MOORESTOWN FRIENDS ENHANCES CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

MOORESTOWN ¡V Summer technology enhancements will aid instruction throughout Moorestown Friends School this year, with improvements ranging from replacement of chalk blackboards in several classrooms to the use of iPods in foreign language classes.

Moorestown Friends School teachers have undergone training in how to use interactive whiteboards in the classroom. The school has added seven of the boards, which replace standard chalk blackboards. The whiteboards allow teachers to include material from the Internet as part of their lessons, to demonstrate use of software and to provide more sophisticated topic presentations.

Also as part of summer renovations, Moorestown Friends personnel have installed 80 new computers with DVD burners, 2 Gigs of Ram and 3.4 Gig Pentium 4 processors. Seven high resolution projectors have been purchased, Internet access speed now is more than 8 Mbps and the school’s wireless network has expanded.

In addition, two laptop carts will provide mobile computers for use in the science department and throughout the school.

For the first time this year, Lower School students will have a computer lab designated for their own use, where students can practice keyboarding skills and other computer skills. Beginning in PreKindergarten, each Lower School classroom also has a computer available for student use. A part-time teacher will instruct second- through fourth-graders in the lab and will also assist Lower School teachers in using technology in their classrooms.

Moorestown Friends is one of six schools in the nation to use iPods, the popular hand-held Apple computers, to help students learn foreign languages. The iPods and Italk recorders allow Middle and Upper School French and Spanish students to practice speaking skills, assess their pronunciation, and download final recorded versions for evaluation by their teachers.

The iPods function as mini language labs, allowing students to listen to select foreign language texts, audio books, music, speeches and radio stations from around the world. They also have been used to practice answering questions from worksheets, textbooks and movies.

Students are less reluctant to talking into the iPods than they might be to speak aloud in front of their classmates, foreign language teachers say, noting they have seen an improvement in student verbal skills since the iPods were introduced.

Moorestown Friends School’s technology improvements were funded in large part through donations from the school’s Parent Council and through funds raised through a successful parent-run auction last spring.