2007 Grants
iMac Lab at Middlesex Middle School
A $50,000 grant provided 25 iMac computers along with high definition camcorders, digital cameras and related software. Students are able to make visual records of science experiments, produce historical documentaries and create digital stories. Teacher Hilary Behrman explains, “Digital video lets students learn in the multi-sensory mode they need to process information and express themselves using the media of their time.”
Mobile Laptop Cart for Middlesex Middle School
Mobile laptop carts allow increased use of technology in the curriculum at the Middlesex Middle School. The Darien Technology Foundation funded a mobile cart containing 25 Dell laptops for use in the “Special Areas” (Art, Computers, Music, Tech Ed, IDEA and Family Studies). Technology is becoming a way of life at the Middle School. Twenty five portable laptop computers will deliver a more engaging classroom experience, a more challenging learning environment and a broader connection to the world beyond the classroom walls.
Scoreboards for Baseball and Softball Fields at DHS
Homeruns and hits will be highlighted on the new state-of-the-art baseball and softball scoreboards at Darien High School. A $40,000 grant was provided to purchase new scoreboards that feature 2.3 Ghz spread spectrum radio with wireless controls and generation III LED lighting. The addition of a running time clock to the baseball scoreboard will allow it to be used for scoring other sports during the off season.
Channel 79
Watch Darien government at work on Cablevision’s Channel 79 government access television program. A Dell Precision 390 computer with video editing capability will enhance the programming of town meetings and events that air on Channel 79. A flat screen LCD television mounted in the Town Hall foyer will allow visitors to view programming as well as to see a calendar of town meetings and events.
Darien Library
Technology is a huge part of the NEW Darien Library currently under construction on the Post Road. The Darien Technology Foundation pledged $500,000 to the Library’s Capital Campaign to cover the cost of technology in the Technology Center as well as a portion of the $1.8 million technology budget for the new building. The Technology Center will once again bear the name of The Darien Foundation when the new Library opens in 2008.