Interactive Boards aid in daily instruction

by Bill Surprenant

Students learn in various ways. Some are visual learners while others are audio learners, but not all fit in the two categories. Some may need other strategies or a combinations of strategies. Central recently made a move to meet many students needs by purchasing interactive white boards. Why interactive boards? They present a new way to meet students' needs. They possess the latest technological advances to help with instructional strategies.

Now when students are asked to look at the board, they are very excited about it. They enjoy the "wow factor" of the new technology and and are very attentive to it (don't tell them that they are learning too)!

You may have heard of "smart boards", but that is actually a brand name for interactive white boards. After much research, Central's Technology Director, Mr. John Roch, decided to go with the Promethean Interactive Boards. These particular boards have short throw projectors that virtually eliminate any shadows and can be raised and lowered to accommodate all students. Perhaps the greatest advantage of them is that teacher becomes a member of the Promethean Worldwide Community which allows shared lessons and other resources to be used. Lessons are presented on flipchart that can simply be a slideshow to complete interactive lessons.

I use the board daily for math. The students not only see the board as a new way of instruction, but they are up on it daily using interactive lessons. Math instruction becomes very visual and hands on. The students are able to solve problems, create problems, match answers, and use real life situations. Many aids are provided with the software, such as graph grids, protractors, rulers, probability devices, and many other aids.The board can display scanned worksheets, study guides, and exercises that can be to can be used for solving problems and correcting problems. Such items can also be saved and displayed on my website. It is also an excellent resource for review and test preparation. The board is additionally used for PowerPoint presentations and streaming videos. Of course math isn't the only subject that it used for, many science and social studies lessons are presented on it with many interactive activities.

If you are interested in finding more about the boards, visit the following website: http://www.prometheanworld.com/us/ . Please view the slideshow on the board at the end of this article. Hopefully, the district will be able to add more boards to classrooms in the near future. Promethean Board Activities