Three large touch screens, a handful of nearly floor-to-ceiling whiteboards, dozens of pieces of movable furniture and endless possibilities. 

 

Windsor Central Middle School’s new Future Ready Knights Innovation Center is ready for use, as teachers have been trained on how they can best use both the space and the technology within.

 

 

 

“The two go hand in hand. They allow for types of learning that couldn’t happen before,” said Rick Bray, Instructional Technology/Professional Development Specialist with Broome-Tioga BOCES. “With the easily-movable furniture, we can completely rearrange the nature of the room on the fly to adapt to what teachers are doing. All of the white spaces allow kids to capture their thoughts quickly.”

 

The screens and whiteboards will allow for multiple student presentations at once, with peers having the ability to offer real-time feedback. Teacher training also included virtual reality demonstrations. 

 

“This will help kids find their own learning space and how they learn best,” said teacher Amy Hutter. “Kids can push how they learn best and teachers can find ways to help them improve.”

 

 

 

Middle School Associate Principal Erica Lambrou says the training is showing teachers just how the space can expand the ways they connect with students.

 

“It allows them to transition from direct instruction to more of a deep-creativity kind of learning,” said Lambrou. “Whenever a teacher thinks their lesson will benefit from a makerspace mentality, they can sign up.”

 

Teachers can sign up for the room on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Future Ready Knights program is a District initiative to help students develop professional skills and a career path in one of seven fields: Agriculture, Business/Finance, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Health Care and Trades.