A current technology that has emerged within the last few years in education (K-12) is the Smart Board. With the big shift to a technology driven education system, Smart Boards are seen throughout American classrooms today. Combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer, the Smart Board interactive whiteboard engages students and audiences around the world (Smarttech.com, 2010).
The biggest problem associated with the Smart Board is the cost. The two vital parts of the Smart Board consists of the white board and the projector. The two together prices range from $3,000-$5,000 (http://jsguilkey.iweb.bsu.edu/professional/Technology/SMARTboard/SMART5.htm). With the country enduring economic hardship, many school districts are experiencing huge budget cuts. Less money means few supplies, especially the latest technology. An additional challenge of the Smart Board is that it requires training. Each teacher needs training in order to successfully use the Smart Board to its full potential for their students.
The societal needs that the Smart Board meets are: providing a huge visual, interactive (bringing the lesson to life), instant access (internet, videos, movie
Providing free training for all teachers upon the purchase of the Smart Board will make this product even better. Teachers will have the opportunity to ask questions and state concerns to the creators of the product. School districts will not have to worry about providing additional funding for training.
Additional resources about the Smart Board:
Pros and Cons of the Smart Board- http://unixgen.muohio.edu:8081/SMARTboards/Pros-and-Cons.html
Ease of Use of the Smart Board- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U05WeXPGlk
All Smart Products- http://www.smarttech.com/us/Solutions/All+Products
Sources:
Smarttech.com. (2010). Products. Retrieved on June 13, 2010 from: http://www2
.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/default.htm
I enjoyed reading your comments about the Smartboard. I can just imagine what we could do in the educational environment if each classroom had one, but you are correct in mentioning the budget cuts. These are causing us to lose teachers as well as necessary resources that would enhance and improve learning. It is really sad to think that education is being cut when there are so many wonderful innovations that would improve the learning environment. I appreciate your resources about the Smartboard and I plan to create a reference file for future research.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Cynthia H.
Smartboards are only as good as the user. I have seen some pushed in a corner and never used. I wonder if better training would put them in use. Will you use this as a topic for your other course as well? It would make sense.
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