IN last month's column, Earth on the Web, I argued that schools should have specialized computer labs for geography and Earth science. This month, I examine several advanced technologies whose availability also argues for specialized high-tech facilities in schools. Over the years, I have frequently harked back to the theme of the power of technology to engross and enthrall. I once did a column on high-definition education that argued that educators deserved higher-resolution media. This month I will push that theme even further. When I started doing the research for this column, I searched the Web for environments. Related terms include virtual reality and theaters. A planetarium is a familiar example of an immersive environment. Though there are several ways to create such an environment, the simplest is to construct a room with projection screens on two adjacent walls. A room like this has nearly the same effect on its occupants, if they are close to the center or corner of the room, as a room with screens on four walls. I created a room like this some years ago using four 35-mm slide projectors--two per wall. With two projectors per wall, you can use transitions such as a wipe from right to left across the two walls. The effect is quite impressive. For a true 360-degree immersion room--like a planetarium--you obviously need a dome. Construction of a large architectural domed space is expensive, but believe it or not, there are about 100 of them in U.S. schools. A viable alternative is an inflatable dome, available from a company such as Learning Technologies, Inc., which sells STARLAB (www.starlab.com/index.html)--a complete planetarium kit with a 360-degree digital projector and an inflatable dome that will accommodate about 25 people. The cost is $54,000; a dome that will hold about 50 people is $59,000. Unlike older planetarium projectors, such as those made by the well-respected Spitz company, the new digital projection systems can be used to project digital slides and video. This turns a planetarium into a domed theater. You can explore planetariums and domed theaters on the Web at www.skyskan.com/Links/index.html. If you are thinking that I have gone mad suggesting that schools should invest this kind of money in a fixed or portable planetarium/ theater, just compare the cost of these items to that of the exercise equipment in a high school fitness or weight room. Furnishing such a room costs between $50,000 and $100,000. If you take the time to watch the faces of children as they leave an immersive theater, you will begin to understand the benefits of having such technology in schools. After doing the above research, I surfed over to Apple's QuickTime website. It seemed like a logical next step, since Apple has the premier digital video technology. Even if you are a Windows PC user, you should be interested in QuickTime because it is the gold standard of digital video and is available for your PC. At the QuickTime site, I learned that my version of QuickTime needed to be upgraded, so I downloaded and installed the free player software. I then went ahead and purchased a QuickTime Pro license for $30. With QuickTime Pro you can save most of the videos you find on the Web directly to your hard drive, where they will often play better than they do over the congested Internet. The big news at the QuickTime site is HD (high-definition) video. After you install the latest free version of the Quick-Time player, you can experience HD video in all of its splendor at www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd. The video from WildlifeHD is particularly impressive. Incidentally, WildlifeHD is the producer of several Emmy Award-winning children's videos. You can see video clips from them at http://wildlifehd.com/childrens.html. With any new technology, there can be glitches. If you have trouble playing the QuickTime HD videos, you will need to do the following. …