By Maralyn Parker
Daily Telegraph 2007
Rosalie and Hazekiah Polis need more than pencils and
paper to do their school work at Barnier Public School – a
new tool for the 21st century school beginners is the hand
held Senteo.
For all the luddites out their (I didn’t know either),
the Senteo is a sort of remote control linked to an electronic
whiteboard which kids use to answer questions on the whiteboard.
Every classroom at Barnier has an electronic whiteboard,
which is used in just about every lesson.
Young teacher Jon Coburn had never used one before he
arrived at Barnier but now he is such an expert he invited
me to see his Year 2 class.
They go from tending their vegetable garden to interactive
lessons about plants and the environment using their Senteos.
But don’t look for rooms full of flat screens and
the latest laptop models in this school. This is a public
school. There is no million dollar multimedia studio here.
Principal Rod Gibbs has cobbled together a wired school
from writing submissions, donations of old computers from
places such as Macquarie Bank and Westpac and by buying
old stock from companies which are updating.
Now every child in Year 5 and 6 have access to a computer
and whiteboard from their desk.
Results in Basic Skills Tests show that it is working.
Rod boasts the results have reached a historical high.
Barnier is such a great example of how public schools
achieve despite the appalling lack of funding.
Reproduced with Permission from The Daily
Telegraph  '
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