Vacca introduces technology for P.S. 108

Vacca introduces technology for P.S. 108

New computers have been presented to P.S. 108 through funding from Councilman James Vacca, giving students a more innovative approach to education.

“A school is a special place that will stay with a person through their lifetime,” said Vacca. “Technology was a priority here to move the school and its students even further into the future and get kids acclimated at an early age.”

Students of P.S. 108, located at 1166 NeilL Avenue, received numerous laptops courtesy of a $ 100,000 grant secured by Vacca.

“The other computers were very old and had had their day,” said P.S. 108 principal Charles Sperrazza. “It was hard and expensive to keep up with the maintenance. We reached out to Councilman Vacca and mentioned we needed help with our technological infrastructure.”

In addition to the laptops, vaults and mobile science carts were purchased to safely and securely hold and transport several of the laptops for use at any time.

These state of the art Mac laptops, save space, where bulky PC’s were once present, and introduce the Internet into the classroom. In particular, the school is proud to offer the Renzulli learning system to their students.

This is a web-based student enrichment program that profiles each individual student and creates tailor made activities. Renzulli accesses and monitors a student’s preferred learning style, expression style and areas of interest.

It allows the student to access virtual field trips, real field trips, creative training, critical thinking exercises, independent study project, contests, websites, both fiction and non-fiction books, summer programs, online activities, videos and DVDs from any computer by simply logging onto the site.

“If you let the children have the tools they need and align them with their interests, the student engagement will increase, resulting in better school achievement,” said Sperrazza.

These laptops are just phase one of the schools two-phase plan. During the second half of the year, the school hopes to incorporate Mimeo, transforming white projections boards into smart interactive boards, allowing the laptop to be manipulated through the board, enabling better instruction from teachers and learning for students.

“In order for our children to succeed in today’s marketplace, they need a firm understanding of all facets of technology,” said Vacca. “I’m proud to help equip our schools with the tools they need to prepare our students for the 21st Century.”