SMART Board Sweetness

600i_overview.jpgSo with the current focus on updating our 5-year Technology Plan, I’ve been thinking about new hardware. In the area of interactive whiteboards, the newest thing is an all-in-one solution that includes the whiteboard, a projector, speakers and all necessary computer hookups in one wall-mountable system. The version from SMART Technologies, our district’s standardized brand, is the model 600i. I was just reading an article about how Sarasota County in Florida is installing thousands of Promethan’s all-in-one model, the ActivBoard+2. I figure GTCO Calcomp has a version as well, or will soon (have not looked into that).

So why are these so sweet? The price is higher than any of the components separately, but when you factor in ceiling installation of a projector, labor, cabling, etc., the price suddenly becomes very competitive. All the pieces for an excellent A/V teaching station are built right in together. My biggest concern is that since these are newer technologies, how wil they perform? Specifically the projector – it uses “short-throw” technology – since the projector is on an arm connected to the board, it has differnt components to do so. The TCO of such projectors is the largest question mark vs. a typical ceiling mount installation.

In some conversations I have had, it appears the technology is good – so its worth investigating if this is a solution we want to pursue. I’m looking forward to finding out!


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4 responses to “SMART Board Sweetness”

  1. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    hey mr Russo I think u should get a smrt board for each room

  2. fullcourtplayerx Avatar
    fullcourtplayerx

    I think that smart boards are cool, but i just think that the math teachers should use them more then the social studies teachers(no affense) because i for one think that the math teachers and spanish teachers right more things, and that it would seem helpful for them.

  3. Michelle Avatar
    Michelle

    I think we should have a smartboard for each room because you can show movies over the internet and you can see the morning announcements. It’s pretty sweet.

  4. Jenna Avatar
    Jenna

    I think we should try to aim for a smart board in every room- but they are pretty expensive – so i think that the math and social studdies teachers should be the first people to have a smart board in their rooms. Math teachers would use the boards a lot, going over homework, teaching a lesson, and more. Social Studies teachers would use the boards to show movies, and show power points. Also i think it is really cool, and it gives everyone a chance to interact with what they are learning- in some cases it makes the material easier to learn!