Interactive Board on the Go

For most schools, the missing element for interactive white boards has been portability. Sure, they can help bring lessons to life for a class, but only if it’s in front of them. Enter Conen’s Board of the Future, which can roll from room to room on wheels so that it can do double duty. The key is that the projector and screen move up and down in tandem, keeping the projector calibrated so that it doesn’t take too long to get it in position and started. Once it’s set up, just plug it in and teach. It works with either a Sanyo XL50 or Hitachi ED-A100 short throw projector and can slide up and down to accommodate tall and short students. The board can be ordered with hinged doors and a shelf for a computer.

The Interactive Board that Speaks to the Class

Interactive boards are a great way engage the entire class in an impromptu lesson but most lack the ability to amplify sound so you’re stuck with the projector’s crappy speaker. Panasonic’s UB-T781 Interactive Elite Electronic White Board does that one better with a set of integrated speakers for either the audio material of the lesson or a teacher’s microphone. That way, everyone can not only see what’s going but hear as well. The 77-inch board has a USB hub as well as RM Eastitech software.

The Classroom Work Table

Why fuss with projectors, laser pointers and sticks or fingers to point out what’s on screen, when you can put it all on a work table and touch your way to smarter students? The latest in interactive technologies, the Smart Table is perfect for elementary school students because it is oriented around touch. The table top is covered with an LCD screen that can be operated by pressing your finger on its surface or using a stylus.

The table itself has a 27-inch interactive screen and is 29-inches high, making it perfect for small groups of kids to work with. It comes with all the software you’ll need to turn furniture into a classroom aid. Regardless of whether it’s exploring educational Web sites, drawing maps of the world or reading an eBook to a group, the Smart Table can make any lesson more interactive and fun. It can not only recognize taps, but two fingers at once and complex gestures. The tables will cost $8,000, be available this spring and you can get a cool preview of its abilities with this video.

Save Your Interactive Lessons

If you’re using Luidia’s hardware and its eBeam software for your interactive white boards, the company just introduced a new version of the program. The key change is that version 2.1 of eBeam Interact lets teachers record any interactive lesson and compile them into a digital archive. Anything written on the board and spoken in the room can now be saved in a variety of formats, including .avi and .wmf video as well as Flash’s .swf. The program comes with a player so that lessons can be shown to a class or group of colleagues. The Texas City, TX High School has been using the new program.

eInstruction Announces “Content Meets Technology” Sweepstakes

To celebrate the recent combination of eInstruction and Interwrite Learning, the company announced their first “Content Meets Technology” sweepstakes. Teachers and students submit, using just 250 characters or less, their vision of the role of technology in education. Those thoughts will then post to an interactive Google Map mashup on the eInstruction site. 

Here’s How: The student/teacher submissions should highlight classroom achievements made possible by the use of technology or focus on the benefits of a technology-empowered classroom. The work, along with the name of the school, the grade, and the teacher’s name, will appear on a Google Map of the world on the sweepstakes’ Web site.

Prize: Winners will be awarded an interactive makeover prize package that consists of the Interwrite Board, Interwrite Pad, 32-Pad CPS RF Clicker System, Epson PowerLite 400W Projector, and more.

Deadline:  The sweepstakes begins on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 and ends on Thursday, May 13, 2008. Winners will be chosen randomly from each grade category and announced on Monday, May 19, 2008.

Free Whiteboard Lessons

Looking for great lessons for Earth Day? SMART’s popular microsite has just launched a new update that includes six FREE Notebook collaborative software lessons – including the award-winning lesson from West Potomac High School.
Bottom Line: All lessons on the site are aligned to standards. Also included are contests and plenty of other helpful links, articles, and how-tos for both new and experienced whiteboard users.
FREE

Whiteboards Increase Student Participation

St. Gregory the Great School in Hamilton Square, New Jersey says they have seen student participaton increase since adopting the Hitachi Software FX-77 StarBoard interactive whiteboards in its K-8 educational facility. Hear about results from Jason Briggs, vice principal in this short video: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzDVRTJokTA

Do Whiteboards Make a Difference? New Study Thinks So

Can interactive whiteboards increase student engagement and keep teachers? A new study released by Promethean indicates the answer is yes. Henrico County Schools (Virginia) participated in a Fall 2007 study to decide if Promethean’s Activboards have a positive impact on the teaching/learning process. The study included both the interactive whiteboard and Activote student-response pads. Study details can be found on the site, but in a nutshell, the study found that:
1.      Students were more engaged in classes with teachers using Activboards when compared to their match classes.
2.      Teachers in classrooms with Activboards asked students questions more frequently than their match classroom. They also were able to simultaneously monitor the learning of all students in the classroom more frequently than their match teacher.
3.      Teachers with Activboards incorporated 21st century skills in the area of communication, problem solving, and collaboration more often than their match teachers.
4.      Students in classrooms with Activboards had a slightly higher pass rate on the Standards of Learning tests than their match class.

Free Whiteboard Lessons

A new SMART microsite launched this month offers free Notebook collaborative software lessons. The theme this quarter is math & science, featuring five original Scholastic-branded lessons – all aligned to standards. The site also includes contests and plenty of other helpful links, articles, and how-tos for both new and experienced whiteboard users. Watch for upcoming themes: Earth Day lessons in April, and back To School lessons in August.

SAFARI Montage Integrated with Promethean Activboard

Educators can now present content from SAFARI Montage’s video-on-demand digital media management system on the Promethean Activboard. Users can freeze frame video and annotate over it by using the pen to write notes and hightlight information. SAFARI Montage lets users save, meta tags and share Promethean lessons, saved on flipcharts, on their district’s central server.