Promethean ActivBoards Take Students on Virtual Field Trips at The Museum School of Avondale Estates

April 11, 2012 - PRLog -- The Museum School of Avondale Estates’ student Explorers will soon be able to take virtual learning expeditions around the world to places like the TELUS World of Science, NASA, the Sistine Chapel, and even the Great Wall of China.

This exciting educational opportunity is made possible by Promethean, a global education company, which recently donated two of its ActivBoards (interactive whiteboards) to the school as part of a community initiative–and as a tribute to the community for its hospitality shown during Promethean’s Global Sales meeting held in Atlanta in February. In addition, Promethean donated 80 ActivExpression devices and an ActiveSlate wireless, fully integrated, note-book sized tablet that allows teachers to run the ActivBoard from anywhere in the classroom.

The collaborative learning model adopted and implemented by The Museum School of Avondale Estates was an ideal fit for the cutting-edge technology company. Using ActivBoards, students engage in collaborative learning activities, and classroom teachers can leverage the interactive, integrated technology, real-time assessment tools, and best-in-class content and resources--thus creating an unparalleled learning environment.

The Museum School partners with museums and other learning institutions to provide real-life experience with classroom topics. Through interactive learning expeditions to partner sites, students have a unique opportunity to ask questions, make observations, reflect on experiences, explore possibilities, and draw their own conclusions. In the classroom, students using the handheld ActivExpressions learning devices can provide immediate responses to polls and questions or provide feedback directly to the ActivBoard during whole-class brainstorming sessions. With this donation, students who are studying space now have the ability to take virtual learning expeditions on the ActivBoard to some of the world’s most prestigious institutions. Teachers can immediately assess students’ comprehension using the ActivExpression devices.
   
“We are so grateful for this generous donation to our school,” said Katherine Kelbaugh, Museum School principal. “The ActivBoards will allow our teachers and students to interact and further engage while in the classroom. This new technology affords us the opportunity to integrate self-paced learning, to encourage hands-on participation, and to spark lively discussions and insightful debates. This donation will truly serve to enhance the overall educational experience that our students have while in their classroom setting.”

“Today’s classrooms are filled with a wide range of students, who think, learn, and perform in different ways,” said Jim Marshall, President, Promethean North America. “In today’s day and age, teachers are constantly challenged to deliver lessons that are dynamic and vibrant ‘experiences.’ We hope that our contribution today will help The Museum School educators capture the attention of dozens of sometimes distractible minds while inviting and encouraging participation in their classrooms.”
The museum-school concept is a proven school model that provides project-based learning through partnerships with museums and other community organizations. Students learn collaboratively by engaging in real-world projects and mentorships with experts. Likewise, Promethean focuses on developing educational solutions that support teaching and creating learning environments that foster academic success for all students.

“Our key focus is to design and develop transformational education solutions that spark inspiration and further educational exploration within classrooms,” added Marshall. “We are so pleased to be able to partner with The Museum School to continue to foster a sense of discovery—inspiring students to develop a sense of autonomy, interdependence, motivation, and a joy for learning.”

About The Museum School of Avondale Estates
The Museum School of Avondale Estates is an innovative public charter school dedicated to academic excellence and built on the beliefs that every child deserves a quality education and that not every child learns in the same way. The school was founded on research about how children learn best: through personal exploration and hands-on experience. Chartered by DeKalb County School System, The Museum School currently serves 200 children in grades K-4 and will expand by one grade level each year through the eighth grade. For more information, visit http://www.themuseumschool.org .

About Promethean
Promethean. Spark inspiration.
Promethean is a global education company committed to supporting teaching and learning. Our focus is on student-centered and collaborative learning. We do this through our integrated technology, training, content and assessment solutions that help teachers meet individual student needs. Our products are used in more than 750,000 classrooms around the world, and PrometheanPlanet.com, the world’s largest interactive whiteboard community site, provides over one million members access to around 38,000 free teaching resources. With corporate headquarters in the U.K. and U.S., Promethean has products distributed through a network of partners in some 100 countries and is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange as Promethean World Plc (ticker symbol ‘PRW’). http://www.prometheanworld.com/en-us