Fla. Students Learn in Live "Competitions"
Students at the Suwannee Middle School in Live Oak and Branford Elementary School in Branford, Fla., are using the LearnStar Interactive Multimedia Learning System to study everything from Shakespeare to square roots. The schools had originally installed the system to meet the special needs of Title I students, but soon realized that LearnStar could be used by all students.
Students at distant locations participate in stored or live "competitions." The system includes a dedicated computer with CD-ROM drive, printer, satellite dish, receiver, wireless keypad transceiver, classroom keypad pack and charging trays, all contained in a cart.
Over 1,000 academic competitions, written by educators for grades K-12, are available. Students work in pairs or small teams, answering multiple-choice questions via the wireless keypads.
"[LearnStar] fits really well into our lesson plans and we are even writing our own competitions," said Glenda Moses, a Title I teacher at Branford. LearnStar Corp., Carlsbad, CA, (800) 292-1505.
This article originally appeared in the 04/01/1996 issue of THE Journal.