White Papers

The following white papers address the educational value of various classroom technologies that can be found on the DigitalEdge contract, and classroom models that support student achievement.

Classroom Amplification Systems:
Understanding and Overcoming the Acoustical Barriers to Learning (pdf)

Executive Summary: While a classroom amplification system is not a matter of technology integration or technology literacy, it clearly represents a technology solution that provides an optimal learning condition in the classroom. There is an abundance of independent research that shows the need for amplification in the K-12 classroom, both for hearing-impaired students and students with normal hearing. That research is clear, consistent, and conclusive.

This paper will provide information about the need for classroom amplification, and readers will develop an understanding of why this solution is so critical in a learning environment.

 

Sustainable Classroom Technology:
Increasing Student Achievement with Document Cameras (pdf)

Executive Summary: It's no secret that technology can breathe life into a classroom. With carefully selected solutions, lessons can easily and instantly become visually rich and interactive. Yet technology staff and other key decision makers face several challenges as they make purchasing decisions.

  • Which technology solutions will transform the teaching and learning environment and yield the highest results?
  • Which solutions represent the best value for the dollar?
  • And which technologies will teachers, professors and other educators incorporate into their daily lessons without too much resistance?

The trend data from Washington State’s K-12 educational technology inventory reveals that the document camera is one of the most-used pieces of classroom equipment in the state. At the end of 2005, approximately 14,000 document cameras were being used for teaching and learning, a number that had taken digital cameras more than ten years to achieve. And in 2006, an additional 8,300 document cameras were purchased by school districts. The most current data shows that at the end of the 2007-2008 school year, almost 35,000 document cameras were being used in classrooms.

Teachers and decision-makers are embracing document cameras as a standard piece of classroom technology. At the heart of their popularity is sustainability, a key factor in identifying quality technology solutions for learning environments. This article presents the ways in which the document camera, as a classroom technology solution, meets the criteria for sustainability, and discusses how it can be used in ways that transform learning.