While in conversation with many districts of late, I have been asked about, or sometimes told about, classroom amplification systems. Several Directors of Technology have told me how wonderful these systems are, and are beginning to implement them in new or remodeled classrooms.
I have experienced amplification systems as an Assistive Technology. Obviously, they serve a great purpose when meeting a special need.
But my gut questioned the need for this in all classrooms. Is louder always better? Wouldn’t habituation of the amplified voice happen?
I asked one of the Technology Directors if he had any research on the use of these, and he sent me to http://www.lightspeed-tek.com/files/trost_study.pdf. According to this study, the most drastic difference in classrooms was a 72% decrease of teacher redirection. Obviously, we’d expect to see increased learning with a decrease of redirection.
I have found some very compelling research, including the fact that the ideal range for students to hear a teacher is 6 feet.
A problem I had with my research was the fact that most of the sites linked back to the same source: a vendor.
I’m certainly not opposed to this technology, nor opposed to the fact that a vendor is looking at putting research out there on their product. I’m just interested in looking more varied sources.
Of course, I’d like to hear what you all think in our DPLC. Has anyone seen them in a general education classroom?
I see a good amount of money going into these systems, and want to be sure that they are serving our students well.