Jenny Alvey’s sixth-grade science class at Tennessee’s Gresham Middle School hit the jackpot May 4, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel, as a contingent from Oak Ridge Associated Universities made an unannounced appearance, delivering flowers, balloons, and the great news that Alvey’s class was the winner of a $25,000 technology makeover. "I am in shock," said Alvey, whose class won ORAU’s first "Extreme Classroom Makeover," a competition awarding a local middle school teacher and his or her class the latest in educational technology, training, and support. Alvey’s class will receive an interactive SMART Board with a Sanyo projector, laptop, digital and document cameras, a sound amplification system, and an eInstruction Classroom Response System. "The one thing we do have is a computer lab, but as far as students being able to use hands-on technology, it’s not there–[so] this is a great opportunity for our kids," said Alvey. More than 20 public schools participated in the contest, which was for math and science classes, grades five through eight, located within a 50-mile radius of Oak Ridge. Each class submitted a short video that detailed its need for a technology update, and the potential benefits of such a makeover…
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