LAFAYETTE, Ga. – LaFayette Middle School math teacher Chastity Steadman walks between the student desks in her darkened classroom, discussing square roots as she works problems on the board from a distance.
Steadman has no chalk, and the “board” actually is a wall-mounted computer screen about five feet wide.
A device called a Smart Slate transmits her scribblings wirelessly from the piece of technology in her hand to the large, touch-sensitive Smart Board on the wall.
Her students are armed with hand-held response devices that allow them to answer questions from their desks, the results relayed instantly to Steadman, who can immediately offer help.
A group of more than 50 Walker County teachers and technical staff toured LaFayette Middle on Tuesday, hoping to gain that same level of comfort in a high-tech, modern classroom and eventually pass along their know-how to teachers in the rest of the system, said Michael Tipton, Walker County coordinator of school improvement.