ACCESS Project

Matt and I chose to visit Robertsdale Highschool to check out their ACCESS lab. I learned more about ACCESS from their vice principal, Mr. Mitchell, than I have learned all year. He started by explaining to us that they physical aspects to a lab were just as important as the technology used. Some things that we found out that are neccessary that you don't read about on web sites are the walls and the lights. Mr. Mitchell told us that the walls of the room they chose had to painted because the gloss makes it harder to see on the camara. Also, they used something called grid lights which helps keep off the reflection for students watching in another location. Another thing they did to keep their lab up to date is putting slides on the chair as opposed to wheels, which helps the carpet stay nice.

Next thing we talked about was the technology of the system. Mr. Mitchell told us they use a system called Tamdberg Audio Science. In the classroom they use lap tops instead of putting up computers at each desk because they students do not use a computer for every class. The lap tops are numbered so that if there is damage done to one they know which students it is. The classroom had two televisions, one in the front and one in the back. He explained that the one in the back is used to see the students in another location and the one in the front is used to see the students in the classroom. Another thing he showed us was something called a document cam. It looked somewhat like a projector but has the power to zoom in and out very, very well. He showed us how it worked and creates a very clear image no matter how close you zoom. Other aspects of technology we saw was the speaker that picks up vibrations, it allows anyone in the class to be heard at the same volume reguardless where they are sitting.

In the front of the classroom next to the printer\fax machine there is a telephone that allows them to call the "super computer" located at Troy. These are the people in charge of everything. If there are any problems with the system they must call them and inform them to fnd out the way to fix it. Troy is also in charge of matchng up the students in another location to the school which have these ACCESS labs. The teachers trained to teach these classes were taught at Troy, but then we learned that the students in the remote locaton don't even have an actual teacher with them sometimes the just use an aid to keep the students under control. So they are literally being taught everything through a camera and some speakers.

We had the opportunity to ask Mr. Mitchell some questions and he discussed with us some of the complications with an ACCESS lab. These included the fact that many schools have different scheduling. Therefore, it is hard to create a master schedule knowing when and what is going to be taught. Some schools may go by block schedule and others by periods , creating the problem of getting students in two different locations to learn the same thing, at the same time, for the same period of time. We asked him how Robertsdale Highschool came around to getting an ACCESS lab. He informed us that it was granted to them because they filled out the paper work and were chosen. The lab cost around $85 thousand dollars and took about a month from start to finish.