Although the technology was expensive, the school realized savings in other areas: Strohecker didn't have to buy pull-down maps for each classroom, transparencies for overhead projectors or DVDs.
The technology ensures that students are paying attention every step of the way, Strohecker said. The audio system projects a teacher's voice - sparing them from straining to be heard - and drowns out noise from the hallway. Small, calculator-like devices, called Senteos, allow students to punch in multiple-choice answers to a question. Teachers can see immediately whether students are picking up the material. Students also can see how many of their classmates picked A, B or C.
"Then that opens up discussion," Strohecker said.
Strohecker has instructed all of her teachers to have students answer a question via Senteo every 15 minutes.
The technology makes teachers efficient in other ways. Teachers don't have to go home and cut out shapes from construction paper to illustrate fractions or other ideas. They simply drag and drop 3-D images from electronic files and display them on the whiteboard.
Instead of going to the media center, teachers have access to a video library with 40,000 clips in their own classroom. They can access it in minutes and move their lessons along quickly. Kate Bieryla, a third-grade teacher, found a lesson on the poet Robert Frost that includes footage of him reading his poems aloud.
"It's just right there for them," she said.
Parents are excited about their children having the latest equipment. The technology helps teachers reach students who are more visual learners, said Gail Burcky, president of the Nantucket Parent Teacher Association. Her son James, a transfer from Four Seasons, will enter the third grade at Nantucket this week.
"I think it will help more students because not everyone learns the same way," said Burcky, former PTA president at Four Seasons.
There is some concern among parents about how their children will fare once they graduate from Nantucket and attend schools that aren't as technologically advanced, Burcky said. Mosier said the school system is doing whatever it can to retrofit schools with new technology. Older schools are harder to rewire, he said.
Strohecker, former principal of Millersville Elementary, introduced whiteboard technology there. She said she is thrilled at what she was able to bring to Nantucket students.
"It's an unbelievable opportunity," Strohecker said.
