SMART Boards Marin Gross Gustavo Miranda Stephanie Bissonnette Jared Gilman Group 5

History Invented by David Martin and Nancy Knowlton, the goal of the SMART Board was to enable people to interact and share information with EVERYONE. First introduced in 1991, “no one knew about an interactive whiteboard, much less why they might want or need one, therefore sales for SMART started slowly.” Stated on the SMART Board website is the founder’s objective to this amazingly genius product: “…SMART is committed to bringing valuable solutions to its customers worldwide. When people first see our products, they’re delighted and intrigued by the magic that happens before their eyes.”

Now Vs. Past SMART Boards are an example of the evolution of society into one that is technology-based. Unlike chalk boards or white boards, SMART Boards make note-taking, lesson planning and student/content interaction notably easier. When administrators look at the amount of money within their budgets, they have to consider what their districts would have to sacrifice to implement this innovative technology as budget cuts across the nation continue to endanger students’ quality of learning.

Advantages Allows for more student interaction and engagement. Teachers can record steps of a lesson for student review with SMART Notebook Software. Easy incorporation of sound and video clips along with text and photos. Gives supplemental assistance to the visually impaired and ESL students. Pen tray allows the use of any object as a writing utensil when “pens” are damaged or lost.

Disadvantages  Programs PC friendly, not MAC friendly.  Setup time takes away from class time.  Slight touches or bumps into a mobile SMART Board can make it inaccurate.  Shadow interference from students/teachers. Have the SMART Board installed as a permanent fixture. Use adapters to make the SMART Board MAC friendly. Solutions:

Why Should Teachers Use Smartboards? Posting is strategic for students that are struggling in class, absent, or as review for exams or clarification of the material. Teachers and students can do presentations. Edit students’ mistakes when they do exercises on the SMARTboard. Teachers can create lessons in advance from school or home. Beneficial for subjects that require visual aids, such as math.

Cost The suggested retail price for a 77" front- projection SMART Board (software included) is $1,399. The national cost of a student is $9866 at a public school and $4700 at a private school. It would cost an average of $139,900-$251,820 (based on a national average of classrooms per school) to upgrade one school, which is the cost of about students.

Links SMART Boards on Wikipedia gives reliable information about the SMART Board as well as a list of supporting external links. SMART Boards on Wikipedia This YouTube video gives a brief introduction to the SMART Board and also provides examples of practical applications for this new technology. This YouTube video SMART Technologies is the main manufacturer of SMART Boards worldwide. Product information can be found on this website. SMART Technologies