On the road with technology - The Independent

By MIKE JAMES

The DAILY Independent

SOUTH SHORE The roller coaster ride is wild.

Baylee Burney feels the Gs when it throws her around the curves. Other riders are screaming. “It makes me dizzy,” she laughs helplessly.

Then she removes the virtual reality goggles from her face.

Baylee is back on the ground again. The breeze is rustling quietly in the trees outside McKell Elementary School, where the rest of her fourth-grade class is assembled beside a trailer full of wonders.

High-tech wonders, that is.

Children at McKell were treated last week to a visit from Ashland Community and Technical College’s mobile technology lab, which is a 16-foot utility trailer shined up with fancy graphics outside and outfitted with “Star-Trek”-worthy technology inside.

And like the crew of the Enterprise, the lab has embarked on a continuing mission — to bring emerging technology to children in northeast Kentucky.

So coordinator Chris Boggs, a professor at ACTC, has loaded it with 3-D printers, drones, laser engravers and 3-D pens along with the virtual reality goggles — all of it the kind of tech candy children will gobble up greedily.

The devices also are fodder for a higher purpose: Children who play around with them today in all likelihood will use them in careers tomorrow.

“All kids love technology and here they can experience different types of technology than they have at home. It’s a good opportunity for them to experience some career paths,” said fourth-grade teacher April Spradlin.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 or 80, everybody finds something they’re interested in,” Boggs said.

His schedule for lab visits keeps him on the road every day — much different from initial expectations.

“We thought we would go out twice a month if there was enough interest, but it has exploded. Kids love it and teachers love it,” he said.

Last week, the trailer made stops at the Boyd County Public Library, Lawrence County High School, Fallsburg Elementary and Elliott County High School in addition to McKell. “It’s a good problem to have,” he said.

School visits also help guide decisions on how schools should spend their technology dollars.

“ACTC having the lab here gets kids and people excited about funding technology in schools,” McKell librarian Tiffany Boggs said.

She already is working on grant applications for a 3D printer and 3D pens. The school has a creative corner in the library dubbed the Maker Space where students can expand their minds using toys like LEGO blocks; she hopes to add tech tools to the mix.

“We’ve got to be able to keep up with technology so the kids can keep up,” she said.

(606) 326-2652 |

mjames@dailyindependent.com

http://ift.tt/2d83Jqz