One of the requirements for our class was to visit a school's ACCESS lab. There is a lab in every public high school in Alabama. The lab is used for distance learning classes. The school that I visited was Baker high school. I visited the lab with a friend and class mate, Bree Smith, The people there were very helpful and took time ti show us around and explain to us how everything worked and the uses that they have for it at Baker.
The whole concept of the lab is neat. To be able to take a class that is offered by a school 300 miles away is mind boggling. Students are able to see and hear the teacher and other students, and they are also able to communicate with the teacher and students in that classroom. The room at Baker had two huge flat screens, a condensing mic, two cameras, and a control station. We were told by the technology teacher that showed us around that the equipment was worth over $60,000.
There has to be at least one class taught in the room at least per semester to keep receiving funding. They said they do not fully utilize their lab due to lack of interest. They don't have many students interested in taking the classes. It is a shame because it is an awesome opportunity. I would like to see a schools lab that does utilize theirs fully.
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