Math Grant

SMART Board™ Interactive Whiteboard Systems

Following an extremely successful pilot of the SMART Board™, an interactive whiteboard system, the LFHS Foundation awarded a grant to implement the technology in all math classrooms throughout the high school. 

A SMART Board™ looks like a traditional whiteboard on a 10-foot track, but looks are all it has in common with a traditional whiteboard. A SMART Board™ does for visual activities in class what a tape recorder does for auditory activities.  It “records” the work of the teacher and the students as they work through problems, review formulas or write out definitions.  There is no erasing.  The board just scrolls to the next line just like a Word document or Excel spreadsheet.   Is there more than one way to solve a problem?  Just split the screen. To reference outside documents on Edline or on a website during instruction, a teacher can access the hyperlink on the SMART Board™.  Students have the dual benefit of the teacher in the room, and full access to supplemental reference materials available in a wide range of formats.

With the Foundation’s grant award, the department purchased wireless slates and Senteo™ Interactive Response Systems. The wireless slate functions as a mouse, pen, and eraser adding mobility and hands-on activity for teachers and students to access the SMART Board™ from anywhere in the room.  The Senteo™ remotes allow students to respond in real-time to a classroom question. The teacher reports and records their responses in a pre-programmed format. As the students respond via their individual remotes, the system displays what each student knows about the topic giving the teacher immediate feedback. 

This SMART Board™ technology allows classroom notes and discussions to be permanent and available for others.  Students absent for the class can access the day’s work.   Lessons from each class can be referenced by MRC tutors or forwarded to the LRC. As part of professional development, the Math Department can use lessons to discuss ideas and lesson plans.  Now, every student, teacher and administrator with a vested interest in the classroom’s technology shares its benefits.