While many educational technologies have potential, they often require some thought and planning for implementation, and in some cases can tempt teachers to make the curriculum serve the interests of the technology instead of the other way around. In contrast, SMART boards have so many readily obvious uses in so many different types of classrooms that anyone with the resources to acquire on could easily jump right in. Without even considering whatever groundbreaking implications they might have, SMART boards make many of the little tasks of teaching easier.
No longer waste time scribbling illegible chicken scratch on chalkboards. Prepare visual aids ahead of time and focus in class teaching attention on other things. Need to change something? Quick type or create it on the spot, it's probably no slower than writing on a chalkboard anyways, and unlike transparencies, files are easily altered.
Instead of needing to buy expensive computers for each child and having to monitor them individual on internet use or whatever else, easily connect a computer and have the class focus on computer media together. The interactive functions allow the students to participate to some small degree as well.
The list goes on.
As someone who is used to using a computer connected to the internet as a workplace/media center, the SMART board presents a logical expansion of this concept to the teaching environment. I could easily imagine myself finding plenty of use for a SMART board in a classroom without needing training or having to attend focus groups. Honestly, I could find uses for a SMART board in my own room, though some of its functions would certainly be wasted in that setting.
The SMART board seems like a good choice for a piece of technology that could serve as a workhorse in the classroom, and is certainly something I would be interested in having as a teacher.
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