After five months of construction, the long awaited “smart room” prototype project is finished and was showcased at Mount Carmel’s Open House on Sunday, November 8.  The newly upgraded classroom – Room 104 – now features a touch screen television, an additional 72 inch monitor, and a ceiling-mounted projection device.  However, the most immediately obvious difference from other classrooms may be the absence of traditional desks.

The upgraded classroom illustrates the way Mount Carmel plans to change the remaining classrooms of the main building during the next three summers of renovation work. The prototype room allows teachers the opportunity to test how the more flexible furnishing and more powerful technology can enhance instruction in each subject area.  Since the school previously upgraded its science and technology wing (with the construction of the Graham Center and McCarthy wing, these classrooms will be used primarily by English, social studies, theology , mathematics, and language classes.

The redesigned interior of the Room 104 is sleek, like something out of the future. Entire walls, which are white, can be written on with dry eraser marker. There are numerous charging stations for the students’ electronics that may be used in the classroom. There are no smart boards (“a thing of the past” accordingly to Mr. Chris Goolsby, MCHS Assistant Principal for Technology), as the smart tvs have taken their place. The room features a variety of seating options, including stand-up work stations and rolling tables and chairs, instead of the traditional desks.

One of the goals in building this room is to see how it changes the learning atmosphere. With all of the new technology and a new set up to the physical aspect of the room, it’s a big change here at MC. According to teacher and educational  journalist Mark Phillips, “The physical structure of a classroom is a critical variable in affecting student morale and learning” (http://goo.gl/qdo9hQ).

As this prototype is tested by faculty and students, the administration will decide what features should be incorporated in the other main building classrooms.  That work will begin with the third floor and eventually working its way down back to the first floor.  By the start of the 2019 school year, all of Mount Carmel’s original classrooms will be upgraded and include smart technology.

The prototype classroom will be available for viewing at both the Honors Program Preview on Thursday, November 19, and at Open House on Thursday, December 8.