Trying to adopt the most updated technology to keep your students competitive with the rest of their peers in the nation, while also trying to maintain a reasonable budget, poses challenges for the most committed school district administrators. As you and your local school board search for ways to maintain high standards of delivering information to your students on a shoestring budget, you will find that there are many solutions available to you.
One Solution That Never Goes Out of Style: Sharing
Sharing is one of the classic non-textbook lessons we teach young students, so why not incorporate this classic and eternally valuable life skill into your own school’s curriculum? Such a plan will call for a few extra meetings or emails to help determine the needs for the shared equipment, but with strong leadership, cooperation and patience, everyone can reach their goals while keeping your school’s budget on track. You might even consider creating a schedule, kept by your audio-visual department, to help stay organized.
Four Essential Sharable Classroom Technology Items for Your School
When you really think about it, many of the higher priced items on our list are not put in daily use for each classroom, so it makes sense to limit purchases and get the most use out of each investment through a program based on sharing.
Take a look around your school to see if any of the following items sit idle for several days or weeks at a time. Also, if you can simply use a few of the products — with sharing in mind — you might find new ways to work one piece into your budget to share, as opposed to one for each classroom.
1. Projectors. High-quality projectors are probably the true epitome and best example of sharable technology for classrooms. Most of us can think back to our childhood and remember the A/V department wheeling in an archaic model to our classrooms. It’s just as feasible and reasonable to do the same now.
2. Interactive Display Screens. A beautiful, pristine and interactive display screen will only improve the overall learning experience for students. Many modern screens are designed for easy mobility with easy mounting and rolling stands.
3. Cameras and Video Cameras. Sometimes the art teacher needs to use a video camera for a class project while the science teacher takes their students out for a nature field trip to record their findings with a high-quality digital camera. Either way, as well as all the other possible uses for this essential equipment, with careful planning and a cooperative spirit, everyone can benefit from the lessons afforded by camera equipment.
You don’t have to stop with big-ticket items to save money while still offering your students the very best education possible in the digital age. Everything from interactive audio equipment to printers are sharable with the right approach. For more sharable equipment ideas, visit SchoolSpecialty.com.
