Classrooms for the Future seeks to comparably equip core curricular classrooms in public high schools and comprehensive AVTS/CTCs across the Commonwealth; however, this initiative is not about what schools get – it's about what they get out of it.

The introduction of technology into a classroom focuses, at first, on the technology as teachers and students alike become familiar with a new tool. However, once the novelty is gone technology can be used as commonly as a textbook or a pencil is used in today's classrooms. Just as a teacher creates lesson plans based upon textbook passages or assigns written work, technology must be frequently and similarly employed if it is to become seamlessly integrated with teaching and learning.

Classrooms for the Future is about recognizing and embracing the need for reform, understanding the role of technology as a catalyst for, and adopting practices that may be unfamiliar.

For teachers, it can be about moving from lecturer to facilitator of student-driven work. But every destination begins with a single step and technology-enabled, project-based modules are a great way to start the journey. For instance:

• A Social Studies teacher might have students create a weblog to identify views on the most significant causes of World War II which can then be used as theses for collaborative multimedia presentations.
• Math teachers might use the design and construction of virtual stair systems as a meaningful, standards-based approach to bridge theory and practice.