Students at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College began fall classes with more than a million dollars’ worth of classroom computer and other technology upgrades at their fingertips.
Teaching stations and audio-visual equipment are among the $1.2 million-plus improvements made to approximately 35 classrooms and more than 1,000 desktop computers on all five campuses where the college provides classes.
Perimeter College Technology Manager Michelle Arth coordinated the extensive technology installation, calling it the largest she has seen at the college during her 17-year tenure.
“This is unprecedented,” Arth said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had an upgrade to classrooms this large, in terms of numbers.”
Arth credits the college’s Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning for its leadership role during the process. She says returning students should notice major changes in the operating speed of lab computers.
“It truly totally changes everything, from the professor to the student environment,” she said, noting that upgrades included touch-screen computer work stations for teachers.
For example, some of the updates will benefit students participating in the Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) Project RAISE program, which contributed nearly $173,000 for new computers and smart boards on the Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody campuses. The Alpharetta and Newton campuses will be part of additional PBI upgrades expected later this fall.
“The new audio-visual equipment will ensure an improved delivery of instruction, which in turn serves to deepen the learning experience for students,” said Dr. Katrina Hunter, Director of PBI Project RAISE.
PBI Project RAISE (Raising Achievement and Increasing Success in Education) focuses on closing the achievement gap between non-African American and African American students by increasing the number who exit learning support math within two semesters. The goal is to increase retention and graduation through academic success coaching and activities that strengthen non-cognitive skills.
In addition to 90 student computer stations for PBI classrooms, technicians installed about 1,010 desktop computers, teaching stations and audio-visual equipment upgrades across all five campuses during the two weeks before the fall semester started.
“It was an aggressive deployment,” Arth said, noting that another major computer upgrade may take place in additional Perimeter classrooms next spring.