Lighting the dark ages: electronic whiteboards allow teachers to break the antiquated classroom model and make interactive learning an everyday habit. (Special section: presentation systems).Blackboards may be entering the dustbin of educational history as school districts across the nation are eschewing chalk dust Noun 1. chalk dust - dust resulting from writing with a piece of chalk; "chalk dust covered the teacher's hands" dust - fine powdery material such as dry earth or pollen that can be blown about in the air; "the furniture was covered with dust" for advanced interactive whiteboards An interactive whiteboard is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer’s desktop onto the board’s surface, where users control the computer using a pen, finger or other device. that can capture notes, copy them and save them for later postings to Web sites. Administrators are equipping newly built schools with electronic whiteboards and retrofitting boards in older buildings with attachable units. The key benefit of the boards, say school teachers and technology directors, is that they can act as computer screens allowing teachers to move through Internet-based lessons without having to leave the front of the room. Teachers can just touch the screen to control functions. While the idea of interactive whiteboards in classrooms seems like a natural, some of the first uses came by accident. SMART Technologies of Alberta, Canada, created some boards for business and before the company Knew it, teachers were asking about buying them, says Nancy Knowlton, Smart's COO. "It was educators who first recognized the tremendous value of these products in the classroom. We had always thought it would be a corporate communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. tool. Education is now the company's biggest market customer segment. Twenty-five Percent and Growing Almost one in four of educators use an electronic whiteboard The electronic equivalent of chalk and blackboard, but between remote users. Whiteboard systems allow network participants to simultaneously view one or more users drawing on an on-screen blackboard or running an application. for instruction, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a recent study by Quality Education Data. Another 4 percent say they plan to purchase a model within the year. And now a plethora of companies are offering a wide range of whiteboards that range in price from about $1,500 to $7,500 depending on size and capabilities. Some of the more expensive models have computers and projectors built in. Some simply work as copy and capturing devices. SMART Boards allow teachers to capture notes on the board, save them in a database and post the notes to a Web site. The boards also allow teachers and students to write on the board with special markers. Mimio and e-Beam manufacture attachable products that can turn blackboards and whiteboards into interactive boards at a cost of about $700 per device. Some schools have a variety of interactive whiteboard products in their schools, depending on what their budget allows. Tim Fahlberg, a math and technology teacher at the International Community School in Washington's Lake Washington School District The Lake Washington School District #414 is a public school district in King County, Washington. As of 2005 it is the fifth-largest school district in Washington. It serves the region to the east of Lake Washington, one of the wealthiest in the Puget Sound area. uses an e-Beam System I to create math movies at home that he later replays in class. Fahlberg says he went with the less expensive e-Beam attachable systems so more teachers could use the technology. He, says the district got a grant to purchase the e-Beams. "We will be using them to capture notes in math, physics and Spanish and control software," he says. "Most people just don't have a clue that such a system exists and is so affordable." Phil Thomas, a technology director for Fulton County
The district is able to tap into $76 million in sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. money to finance the purchases. The tax was instituted exclusively to purchase technology for the district. The district also receives about $1.5 million each year from lottery money that it is able to use for technology. "You can equip a classroom with a projector, whiteboard and everything you need for about $3,000 and the cost of a computer. So it is not unthinkable to move in the direction of one whiteboard for every classroom," says Thomas. "It's almost within reach now. If schools begin to buy in volume, schools will begin to get them for a lesser price." Making Technology Easy Teachers across the country are using whiteboards in a variety of ways. Some use them exclusively to capture and copy notes on the board. Some use them to save the notes and post them to a Web site so students can call the lesson up at home and review it. And others rely on them to access the Web in a large presentation format. Manufacturers of the boards say they have focused on developing easy-to-use technology because they know many teachers don't have a lot of time for training and may not use the technology if it is difficult to operate. "Our products must have `walk up and use' profile," says Michael Dunn Michael Dunn (born Gary Neil Miller, reportedly on February 7, 1934 in Shattuck, Oklahoma; died August 30, 1973 in London) was a successful "little person" American actor. , president of PolyVision, which markets the CopyCam and Webster. "First use must inspire future use." Many teachers say the whiteboards have brought classrooms out of the Dark Ages. "We are trying to help our kids be prepared for tomorrow but lots of time in education we are using tools of yesterday," says Charlie Garten, executive director of technology for the Poway Unified School District Poway Unified School District is a school district located in Poway, California. The District operates 22 elementary schools (K-5), six middle schools (6-8), four comprehensive high schools (9-12), and one continuation high school. in California. The district, which has 32 schools, has two SMART boards in Poway High School Poway High School is a public, comprehensive high school located in the city of Poway in the far southwest portion of the U.S. state of California. Established in 1961, it serves ninth through twelfth grade students from the communities of Poway and Rancho Bernardo. , and five at the newly built Westview school. Two are in common areas, such as the library, two are mobile, and one is used for teacher training. In addition, the district has purchased several attachable devices to retrofit ret·ro·fit v. ret·ro·fit·ted or ret·ro·fit, ret·ro·fit·ting, ret·ro·fits v.tr. 1. To provide (a jet, automobile, computer, or factory, for example) with parts, devices, or equipment not in its standard boards in older schools. Garten says the boards have been effective in training sessions for teachers. He says a civics civics, branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the latter half of the 19th cent. teacher uses one board to save class notes and post them later to a Web site. And a science teacher will use the board to present a dissection dissection /dis·sec·tion/ (di-sek´shun) 1. the act of dissecting. 2. a part or whole of an organism prepared by dissecting. for the entire class to follow. "I think there are three really good things about them. They are large enough to see. The teacher has complete control from the board itself. And they can be used to help students discuss issues, save the notes and post them," says Garten. "I think we have just scratched the surface for these." Still, the costs of the devices do present a challenge, he says. His district took advantage of some discounts offered by companies eager to market their products. Garten says it is important for school officials who want to purchase the boards to educate elected officials who hold the district's purse strings purse strings or purse·strings pl.n. Financial support or resources, or control over them: the politicians who control federal purse strings; tightened the corporate purse strings. . "What we have to focus our state government on is that technology is more than just computers," he says. "We've been getting a lot of grants to buy computers, but there are peripheral devices See peripheral. peripheral device - peripheral like these whiteboards that are a boon to education." Extending Tech's Reach In Overland Park Overland Park, city (1990 pop. 111,790), Johnson co., NE Kans., a residential suburb of Kansas City; inc. 1960. There is printing and publishing, and the manufacture of apparel, aircraft parts, cement, prepared foods, salt, chemicals, marine accessories, and signs. , Kan., which has 18,000 students and 29 schools, teachers are making use of about 40 to 50 interactive whiteboards, says Bob Moore For the football player of the same name see Bob Moore (American football). Bob Loyce Moore (born November 30, 1932 in Nashville, Tennessee), is an American session musician, orchestra leader, and legendary bassist. , executive director for information technology services. Moore says he purchased two boards three years ago for the high school. Demand for them soon grew. "This is the kind of technology I really like to see because it extends the computer," he says. The district was able to purchase several SMART boards and attachable devices from Mimio and e-Beam with the help of a 1998 $25 million bond issue for technology. "At this point, we have no chalkboards in our district," Moore says. "For us, we will have these installed in new schools as part of the basic technology." Marsha Ratzel, teacher coordinator for technology, says the district is working to train teachers to use the boards in innovative ways. "What we are really trying to envision in all of this is moving people beyond using the board as a computer touch screen," she says. "My guess is if we are using it like that, as a big computer screen, I as a taxpayer would be mad. If all you need is a bigger picture then you can use a pull down screen, which is cheapen cheap·en v. cheap·ened, cheap·en·ing, cheap·ens v.tr. 1. To make cheap or cheaper. 2. We want to use it more interactively." Ratzel says she helps teachers figure out ways to use the boards in their lesson plans. "For example," she says, "I can get a math teacher to show a four-step problem, put each step in a different color and the kids can import that image into a JPEG JPEG in full Joint Photographic Experts Group Standard computer file format for storing graphic images in a compressed form for general use. JPEG images are compressed using a mathematical algorithm. and write a narrative showing me they understand it." Christine Stevenson, a third-grade teacher at Prairie Star Elementary in the district, used a SMART board during a lesson about Australia. As part of a Classroom Connections project by Quest, Stevenson's class watched a video journal of explorers in Australia. The images were projected on the whiteboard. "It was amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. , having it that big. You almost feel you were there," she says. Stevenson also used the board to post notes when the students were working on journals about the Australia trip. Prairie Start teacher Becci Tyler says she uses the SMART board every day in her fourth-grade classroom. "When we are doing notes or going over information, I often put it up on the SMART board because I can write it up for students who have disabilities or problems transferring notes onto paper," she says. She also prepares lessons in advance and then calls them up on the board, instead of having to write everything down on the blackboard. "It saves a huge amount of time. It is so much more efficient than being on the blackboard," says Tyler. Anne Podber, a high school chemistry and meteorology meteorology, branch of science that deals with the atmosphere of a planet, particularly that of the earth, the most important application of which is the analysis and prediction of weather. at Chattahoochee High School Chattahoochee High School is a public secondary school within the Fulton County School System and has been recognized as one of America's blue ribbon schools. The school is located next to its feeder school, Taylor Road Middle School. in Altharetta, Ga., uses a CopyCam from PolyVision. The CopyCam attaches to a chalkboard or whiteboard and captures all that is written on it. The notes can then be printed out, saved to a diskette The official name for the floppy disk. See floppy disk. diskette - floppy disk or saved to a built-in Web server. "I take a picture of the notes and give it to the students so the accuracy is consistent between what I say and what they write. Some kids have a hard time copying notes, especially teenagers because they are distracted," says Podber. Podber, who team-teaches with a special education teacher, says she also uses the CopyCam to save the notes for her colleague. "She doesn't have the science background, but she can use my notes and then she appears, too," says Podber. As competition among companies heat up, many are introducing more advanced whiteboard systems that come equipped with curriculum and templates. Thomas says his district just purchased an Active Board from a British company. The board comes equipped with content, such as a diagram of the human body and maps. The whiteboard can also project graph paper image or music staffs and tally answers to questions it posts on the board. Educators say that while interactive boards should not be used to fully replace the student task of taking notes, the boards' ability to save notes is one of its most important functions. "I think the beauty of the electronic whiteboard is the ability to capture the things you are doing, and then you can go back to them as part of your learning process," he says. "In the past those things were lost day-to-day." ELLECTRONIC WHITEBOARDS Brother International, www.brother.com Califone, www.califone.com EBeam, www.e-beam.com Egan Teamboard, www.teamboard.com Epilight Technology, www.nxtsound.com Hitachi, www.hitachi-soft.com Numonics, www.numonics.com Panasonic, www.panasonic.com Plus Vision, www.plus-america.com Polyvision, www.polyvision.com Promethean, www.activboard.com Smart Technologies, www.smarttech.com Tegrity, www.tegrity.com Virtual Ink, www.mimio.com Fran Silverman, fransilverman@ yahoo.com, is a freelance writer based in Norwalk, Conn. |
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