Just chalk it up to innovation

By Jen Waters 
October 22, 2007

  

 

 Hillary Thorpe uses Promethean Boards to teach her third grade class at Millersville Elementary School in Millersville, Md. The white boards become interactive through games and lessons via computers and the internet and allow the students to interact at the same time.

Third-grade teacher Hillary Thorpe rarely uses the blackboard or an overhead projector in her classroom. In fact, she says, they are almost obsolete at her school, Millersville Elementary School in Millersville, Md.

Instead, the teachers there have been using interactive whiteboards to teach their students. A whiteboard has a large screen that is connected to a computer and a projector. Miss Thorpe's classroom first received a whiteboard last fall.

"It allows for a creative presentation of material," Miss Thorpe says. "It allows me to keep the students engaged regardless of the subject matter."

Interactive whiteboards are one of today's cutting-edge educational tools. The technology allows teachers to create presentations with students, Miss Thorpe says. Anything on the computer screen can appear on the board, including pictures, video clips and graphs. Students can even answer questions using hand-held remote devices.

Using a pen attached to the board, teachers and students can write, highlight, draw and erase words, she says. It also has a calculator, protractor and ruler, and music can be played through the whiteboard.

Promethean, the company that makes the whiteboards used at Millersville Elementary, offers online lesson plans and "flip charts" for teachers using the boards. Teachers can post their own lessons to share with other educational professionals.

Even the classroom's file cabinet has been revolutionized by the whiteboards, she says. Now everything can be saved on a thumb drive, and any worksheet can be transformed to a whiteboard presentation.

"I've seen such a growth in my children," Miss Thorpe says. "It would be ideal for every classroom to have a whiteboard. The children are able to perform and make more of a connection with real life."

Hannah Andrews, 8, of Crownsville, Md., a student in Miss Thorpe's class, likes the calculator on the whiteboard.

"It helps me learn better and makes learning more fun," Hannah says. "It's a special treat to learn through it."

Robert Chaney, 8, of Millersville, another student in Miss Thorpe's class, likes the electric pencil that accompanies the board.

"You can write math problems on it," Robert says. "It doesn't feel like an ordinary pencil."

Teachers have been hosting activities for children to raise money for the whiteboards and their accessories at Millersville Elementary, says Diana Strohecker, principal of the school. She has a doctorate in education in human communication and its disorders.

Every classroom in the school, kindergarten through fifth grade, including special education and music classrooms, has a Promethean whiteboard, she says.

Being able to evaluate the students before test time is one of Ms. Strohecker's favorite things about the boards.

By using the hand-held remote devices called Activotes, teachers can test students at the end of each lesson. They can even see which students struggled with certain questions.

"If you wait until the Friday test or the end-of-the-unit test, it's too late," Ms. Strohecker says. "Throughout teaching and instruction, it's key to have formative instruction."

If Promethean boards can help create more educated youths, the students will be able to contribute more to society, says Mark Elliott, president of the Americas division of Promethean in Atlanta.

"It's all about getting people to want to learn and realizing how beneficial and fun it is to learn," Mr. Elliott says. "This can transform the classroom totally. It is something here to stay.

"Every progressive school district across the country is looking seriously at this," he says. "It is something that students love and teachers love. There is so much you can do with its creativity."

Learners today are quite different than a few years ago, says Nancy Knowlton, chief executive officer of Smart Technologies in Calgary, Alberta. Her husband, David Martin, invented the Smart Board interactive whiteboard. The company competes with Promethean.

"They are so visually oriented, so to tap into the visual learning style is absolutely mandatory," Ms. Knowlton says. "That is how you will engage children. It's only when you engage them that they can actually learn."

Teachers' willingness to learn how to use the new technology is a must, she says. Because children only get one chance for education, educational professionals owe it to the children to figure out how to teach in today's language.

"If teachers don't have strategies to use the whiteboards, you are spending money without it being returned," Ms. Knowlton says. "There are bright and capable children today that are not engaged and not reaching their potential because of their learning styles and interests."

Interactive whiteboards are the blackboards of the 21st century, says Renee Henderson, instructional technology specialist in the information technology office at Prince George's County Public Schools.

The school district has had Smart Boards for at least five years, she says. It also uses Promethean boards throughout its schools.

Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights and J. Frank Dent Elementary School in Fort Washington are technology showcase schools, where every classroom has a whiteboard, she says.

"Children are used to things being active, interactive, visual and responsive," Ms. Henderson says. "It really changes the environment of a classroom from the teacher being the center and focus to students participating more actively in their instruction."