Our boards are similar to SmartBoards and I love the interactivity for both myself while teaching and for students to be able to come up to the board and show their work.
We also don’t have to have the room dark to use them, though I prefer to not have all the fluorescent lights on all of the time (gives me migraines).
We had TVs prior to what we have now, with no interactive options.
I love what we have now and that we can write write on and pdf, word document, or website while at the front of the room.
We have a Ladybug projector as well but I never use it, especially because I have to stay at the back of my classroom to use it.
I also purchased a wireless mouse and keyboard so I can control my “presentation computer” from anywhere in the room.
Students each have their own laptop as well but that doesn’t replace using the interactive board for teaching.
By Lifestyle
Necessity has ever been the mother of both invention and adaptation. These past two years, due to the massive changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the field of education has advanced its technologies the world over.
Until recently, the most modern pieces of tech in many schools were Smart Boards. (And, to be frank, these devices are now about as old as the desktop computers that many districts still force teachers to use.) However, even these devices have outlived their welcome.
It’s time for something new to enter the education market. It’s time for more interactive screens.
Technically speaking, yes, a Smart Board projector is a type of interactive screen. The old Smart Boards allowed for teachers to project the content from their computers to a larger screen via an overhead projector. The included smartpen with many boards would then allow the teacher or students to interact with the content.
An interactive screen or whiteboard does not require an overhead projector to blow up the image and can be interacted with more directly. This cuts down on the number of peripherals a teacher may need to use it.
So, why are Smart Boards on the way out? There are many reasons that include, but are not limited to:
In short, they are too old, too unresponsive, and too slow to be of any use to a modern educator. This makes the Smart Board price that many schools pay not worth the investment in a time where budget cuts are at all-time highs.
Now that we understand why a Smart Board no longer works as a classroom centerpiece, let’s discuss what interactive screens for classrooms can bring to the table. Some of the benefits of using new interactive screen technology include:
In essence, interactive screens are a better, faster, easier to work with alternative to the old, outdated, clunky Smart Boards that once served as staples in more affluent classrooms.
The shift from Smart Boards to interactive screens in many classrooms is the first part of a sweeping wave of technological reform for the education industry. If you’d like to learn more about the latest and greatest technologies improving the classrooms of our children, then why not check out our blog? We update each day with more helpful and informative articles like this one.
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