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| Replace the white board with a smart board |
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| Large viewing area for smart board |
Improvement/Rational - Adding a smart board to my library would be an excellent spot to place one. My library has a great group meeting place that fits 2 intermediate classes or 3 primary classes. This would be a location where the entire school would benefit. Why the smart board? Like other technologies, it is the way of the future. As teachers we want to make sure our students are properly trained for the outside world when they are done school and either move on to work or further education.
To view one from Amazon click this link:
http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-Interactive-Whiteboard-FX-77-GII/dp/B003ZTYQCQ/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331527543&sr=1-7
Concerns - The cost of course. Ranging from $2,000-$4,000 this is a lot of money. Training? What kind of training would we get in order to make full use of the smart board. I do believe there are many benefits to having one, but in order to get them all we need to be trained.
Improvement - Placing a smart board in my library where my white board is (see above photo).
Timeline - I had a discussion with my principal this past week about installing a smart board vs a wall mounted tv with Apple TV. We were both in agreement that smart boards are not quite there yet. We both think about 2-3 years from now would be a better time to look at a purchase like this. Let the smart boards come down in price and improve in quality. Also give me a chance to use the ones in the district and try to learn from then so when we get one I am trained and I can train the staff right away.
Communication Plans - Over the next year I am hoping my principal will let me go to the two schools in our district that have smart boards and the people there can let me learn from them and let me explore and learn on my own. I can spend part of pro d days there doing these activities. When I come back I can fill in my principal as to what I have learned. Then perhaps a year from now I can take my staff to use resource centre in the district and show them all about the smart board during a pro d day. They can also explore it. Actually using something like this would be far better then just telling them about it. Once they are on board with it we can start looking at a purchase plan. Either school or PAC money.
Challenges - The money of course. I do believe the support is there for learning about it. But the money is the hard part. Pro d days will help with the training. The purchase time will also be challenging. Anytime you buy technology you wonder how fast it will be replaced. Our PAC enjoys spending money on big ticket items, so this would be ideal for them.
