Vacca Allocates $245K For School Learning Technology

Councilman James Vacca has allocated $245,000 to purchase 30 SMART Table 442i Collaborative Learning Centers for three schools in his district – nine each for PS 108 in Morris Park and PS 175 in City Island and 12 for PS 392, which is part of the IS 192 building in Throggs Neck.

smarttable123The SMART Table is an interactive, 42” LCD surface designed for early childhood educational use from Pre-K to third grade. The tables encourage face-to-face collaboration among students, and teachers can upload digital content and activities for kids to work on in a group setting. Up to eight students can stand around it and interact simultaneously with the digital content on the surface of a table, making it easy for all students in a group to participate. The SMART Tables will be in place at the schools for the 2015-16 school year.

“In 2014, in a city like New York, it is completely unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of people still don’t have access to broadband internet and have never been taught to use a computer,” said Council Member Vacca. “With this funding, we are taking another step forward towards closing the digital disparity by providing tech-based training to the people who need it most and preparing our kids to be at the forefront of this vital sector from an early age.”

Principal Daniel Racic of PS 392 said, “The Bronx Delta School community is extremely grateful to Council Member James Vacca for providing $96,000 in funding to be used to support technology infrastructure in our new elementary school. Much of the funding will be used to purchase SMART Tables, which are large interactive stations (like giant iPads) that can be loaded with teacher created multimedia activities.  Each center can support many different activities which will aid students in developing a variety of academic skills. Because SMART Tables support multi-touch technology, students build teamwork and social skills as they collaborate in small groups at each SMART Table. We appreciate Council Member Vacca’s strong commitment to public education, and his efforts will help support our school goals of positive social, emotional, and academic change.”

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