When Fairfield's Grange Middle School teacher Karen Sprowles saw that window of opportunity closing, she decided to make sure her students had such a conversation. On Monday she and more than 75 of her students walked from her classroom to where Holocaust survivor Elane Geller spoke, at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Fortunately, the trip took less than five minutes.

That's because Sprowles' students used Fairfield-Suisun's new video conferencing equipment. Geller appeared on a "smart screen" at the front of the school library. She, in turn, could see and hear the students on a screen of her own.

Fairfield-Suisun's conferencing equipment was purchased using money from Enhancing Education Through Technology grants, which the district has won for three years in a row. Jon Little, Fairfield-Suisun's educational technology strategy coach, works with teachers to set up conferences in line with their curriculum, and off the students go.

In December, students at Green Valley and Grange middle schools gave the conferencing system its first run, taking a "virtual field trip" to Ano Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County. The equipment got a second chance Monday, when it brought Sprowles' students and Geller face-to-face.

As Geller told her harrowing story of being captured by the Germans at age four and spending the next five years in concentration camps, students listened in rapt attention.

"I'm grateful that I survived," said Geller. "I'm guilty I survived. I'm an activist because I survived."

The students have been studying the Holocaust for the last several weeks, reading Anne Frank's diary, studying from textbooks, and watching movies about it. But Sprowles knew that there would be nothing like having her students talk to someone who had actually lived through the experience.

"It helps them make a personal connection," said Sprowles.

Indeed, Geller and the students warmed up to each other in same the way that any live group does, starting out a bit shy, then loosening up over time. Students started with a few questions and ended up with many. Geller's seriousness gave way to flashes of droll humor.

Student Tamrha Echols said she had been looking forward to Monday's conversation, and that the experience had not disappointed her.

"I was really excited about it," she said. "Today I learned a lot more."

Perhaps most importantly of all, Echols could see how Geller's 60-year-old story has relevance today. Echols named several groups of people she feels deserve more tolerance, and even reflected on her own experience.

"I'm always being stereotyped because of how I talk," said Echols. "People say 'You don't sound as ghetto as your skin color,' or 'You're acting way too proper,"' said Echols. "I think people could be more tolerant to people like me."

Sprowles, her mission fulfilled, also gave the equipment a thumbs up.

"I would do it again," she said. "Absolutely."

Julie Kay can be reached at schools@thereporter.com.