More Smart boards

At LPCI!

By: Sean Power

Toronto ON- On January 2,1 2010, Lawrence Park CI finally received six more Smartboards to be used in the classrooms to enhance the learning environment for the students. Lawrence Park already has five Smartboards from the 600 series, and now has a total of eleven with the inclusion of the six from the 600i series that were recently purchased by the TDSB.

          The classic blackboard and chalk are being replaced, fast, especially at Lawrence Park, where bigger and better Smartboards have arrived. The TDSB says they are “moving forward” by purchasing Smartboards for all schools. With research showing how this new and interactive way of learning can increase a student’s ability to absorb information, schools everywhere are looking to upgrade.

          Still skeptical of the new technology? Do not be. Smartboards have received countless awards for the service it provides. Smart boards have many benefits for being in a classroom; they increase engagement in the learning process, increase support for visual learners, have the ability to show recorded lessons with interactive components, hold the ability to show information in large formats and much, much more.

          The three Smart boards Lawrence Park already have, require multiple connections to a projector, computer and require lots of software to be installed. With the new Smart boards from the 600i series (referred to as series 3), most

of these complications are eliminated. This is because the new 600i series boards include attached overhead projectors. Not only that, but it includes a list of upgrades from the older series, including:

·   Wide-screen options

·   Network-enabled projector

·   Improved lamp life

·   Improved damage resistance

·   Improved installation

·   Improved theft resistance

·   Best image quality

·   Multiposition boom

         However, many students say they haven’t seen the Smartboards being used in classrooms. Some of the students in Mr. Skelton’s Inter Disciplinary Studies (IDC4U2) course have taken the initiative of helping a few teachers with ideas on how to incorporate the Smartboards into their daily lessons. With teachers who require some help using the Smartboards receiving lessons from some of these students, it is hopeful that the students of LP will not have to hear the scratching of a chalkboard anymore.