Case Study: Ransom Everglades

Greater Than the Sum of its Parts

"Our students were absolutely awestruck when we turned on the Activboard for the first time. And since that day, our classrooms have come alive with the sounds and sights of accelerated learning."

Jean Duty, Department Head

Challenges and Goals

Steeped in a rich tradition of academic excellence, Ransom Everglades School celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003. And while still embracing the traditions and mission of its founders, its current teaching staff was resolute on acquiring contemporary technology that would place the school and the students squarely on the cutting-edge for the next century of learning.

“Don’t misunderstand, we had embraced the use of technology at Ransom Everglades. We had computers, projectors, overheads, VCRs and even whiteboards,” said Jean Duty, department head of mathematics at Ransom Everglades. “But they didn’t work together. It was just a collection of disparate tools – all effective on their own but very piecemeal.”

To that end, several teachers began to seek new tools, a system if you will, that was, in math terms, “greater than the sum of its parts.”

Duty added, “We needed a SYSTEM that would take all the individual technologies and turn them into an integrated system that would help our teachers improve upon the more traditional methods of delivering instruction being used.”