Council funding will keep schools ready for the 21st century

Bronx, NY- Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member James Vacca today joined Principal Christopher Eustace and several teachers at P.S. 105 in Pelham Parkway South for a pre-school year visit and tour on the eve of the first day of school. Vacca and Quinn met with school leaders and toured the building, followed by a teacher demonstration by Ms. Margaret Horgan, a computer technology teacher, of how SMART Board technology is used in the classroom.

“Learning in schools also means that we have to keep up with emerging technologies in the classroom,” said Speaker Quinn. “That is why the Council fought to keep money in schools so students can benefit from it. These Smartboards that will be equipped in all classrooms will help students become more engaged in their education.”

“I want to thank Speaker Quinn for visiting us today and for being a tireless advocate on behalf of our schools and our kids, said Council Member James Vacca. “I am very proud of the work we have been able to do together to bring valuable technology into our classrooms. PS 105 will soon be the first school in my district to have a SMART Board in every classroom and I expect more schools to join that list in the next few years. I wish all of our schoolchildren the very best as they begin another school year tomorrow.”

The Smart Board is an interactive whiteboard that uses touch detection for user input – e.g., scrolling, right mouse-click – in the same way normal PC input devices, such as a mouse or keyboard, detect input. A projector is used to display a computer’s video output on the interactive whiteboard, which then acts as a large touch screen.

P.S. 105 is slated to have a SMART Board installed in every classroom as a result of $735 million in capital funding for technology allocated by the City Council and the School Construction Authority.

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