SMALLab: The classroom of the future

I am blown away with the ways that technology is being incorporated in K-12 classrooms. In a recent article in Education Week, Katie Ash touches on the high-tech simulations that are being used in classrooms such as the SMALLab (Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab). With this form of technology, there is a floor matt with trussing around it that can be used as a simulation tool.
David Birchfield, an assistant professor in the arts, media, and engineering program at Arizona State University quotes, "We’re trying to really bring together emerging technologies with what’s known about K-12 learning, and advance the two of those together." An idea like this is not new, but to see programs such as SMALLab in schools is encouraging. Students can but their knowledge into action with these digital games. Word problems come to life, and for many students, this is just the ticket to learning.
In my Educational Media class at Auburn, we are always asked to talk about how we will incorporate technology into our own classrooms in the future. These kinds of programs are ones that I could definately see myself using if the resources were available to me at the school I am teaching at.

Ash, Katie. "High-Tech Simulations Linked to Learning". Education Week. April 6, 2009.