Video games, the Internet and multi-gadget cell phones typically enthrall teenagers. The technology is visual, interactive and engaging. La Jolla High School will spend $75,000 to bring in similar technological tools in an effort to fascinate students with academic matters.
As part of phase one, the school will install one-quarter of its classrooms with “teacher stations,” a multimedia system that includes a computer, digital projector, digital document reader, DVD player, large screen and cable connection.
The equipment will enable teachers to source curriculum from the Internet and to develop their own lectures from a range of mediums. While discussing politics, teachers can quickly pull City Council meetings onto the screen for an instant visual, or when dissecting tissue, microscopic cells can be magnified for the class to analyze.
“It’s the current generation. Instead of just using textbooks or lecture, there is just tons of multimedia curriculum available to complement the textbooks or [use] in lieu of the textbooks in many cases,” said Lynn Basquez, spokeswoman for the Foundation of La Jolla High School that is spearheading the project.
In classrooms of 35 students or more, the foundation hopes that the system will connect with each student’s learning needs to help the student retain the information. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that people retain 10 percent of what they hear from an oral presentation, 35 percent from a visual presentation and more than 65 percent from a multimedia lecture.
“It’s the well-known thought now that if you see something and hear it and do it, it just stays so much more visibly in your memory,” Basquez said.
Equipping teachers to handle the technology is another feat, however. La Jolla will first present the system to teachers who are already using components of the teacher stations. The school hopes that the early adopters will inspire and interest other teachers to utilize the technology in their classes.
“The talents of the teacher now won’t just be evaluating and presenting a textbook,” said Tony Farwell, former president of the foundation. “The talent of the teacher will be how to interweave multimedia content with traditional curriculum.”
The quality of the technology is high, however, and Basquez believes that teachers can integrate it seamlessly into their routine. For instance, the projector is bright enough so that teachers don’t have to worry about adjusting the lighting in the room.
Farwell experienced the teacher stations while on a college tour and brought the vision to La Jolla High Principal Dana Shelburne, who was already familiar and interested in the system.
“You’re enraptured with the dynamic presentation of it as opposed to them marking on a chalkboard and you taking notes,” Farwell said.
The foundation embarked on a large fund-raising campaign last year, dubbed the “Academic Edge Campaign,” and has committed $35,000 to the project. The Parent Teacher Association gave $20,000 to the teacher stations, one of its largest gifts ever. Las Patronas, a La Jolla-based philanthropic group, contributed $15,000 in grant funds.
While the money will only cover the first phase, the foundation intends to equip all of the classrooms with the technology over the next three years.
“Every year we will raise a certain amount of money, and we will allocate a portion of that to fund the teacher’s stations, and we’ll look to outside sources to supplement that,” Farwell said. “But we will get it done.”
When the foundation completed its Academic Edge Campaign on Jan. 31, it had surpassed its $75,000 goal and raised more than $110,000. When the school was hit with a $430,000 budget cut last year that eliminated $84,000 in textbooks and supplies, a counselor and two non-faculty positions, the foundation responded by funding more than $300,000 in school expenditures.
One of the foundation’s biggest money-makers, the Taste of La Jolla, will be held on Monday, Oct. 16, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. More than 20 eateries will provide the fare, from longtime establishments like Girard Gourmet to new endeavors including Hogg’s BBQ and Cendio. Last year, the foundation raised approximately $20,000 for the high school.
Tickets, which are $40 in advance or $45 on the day, are available at the foundation office on campus, 750 Nautilus St.; at (858) 551-1250; or at Washington Mutual bank, 7777 Girard Ave., on Oct. 16.