Outfitting Classrooms

Electronic media have had profound effects on teaching. Educators must learn to use these new audiovisual technologies, and K-12 school facilities must be prepared to support this expanding array of pedagogical tools, including videotape, DVD, CD-ROMs, the Internet and distance learning.

Selecting and properly installing audiovisual equipment and systems is critical to ensure that schools can most effectively meet their educational objectives.

Every classroom should have at least one personal computer that is linked to its school's local area network (LAN), uses shared services within the school, and is connected to the Internet. The LAN should be wired with, at a minimum, Category 5e or 6 wiring. Category 5 or 6 wire is a combination of four twisted-wire pairs within one jacket, terminated at a modular jack. Audio, video and computer information can be carried on this wiring.

The capability to display electronic information, whether video, computer-generated or computer-accessed, is critical in today's classrooms. In order to display this electronic information, a classroom should have a video projector or other flat-panel display. It must be of sufficient size and resolution to enable students to read information from virtually any seat or viewing area in the room.