Kilauea volcano has erupted before the eyes of Nick Taylor's students at Cider Mill School. But the Wilton third- graders didnt take a field trip to Hawaii. Instead, Taylor used the power of the SMART Board to bring images of the volcano into his classroom.
"I can pull up pictures of Kilauea erupting. I can go to live webcams," said Taylor. "I can't do that with a whiteboard."
A SMART Board is essentially an interactive whiteboard that is operated like a multi-functional touch screen computer.
"SMART Boards enable you to make learning interactive. Students can come up to the board and manipulate," said Taylor.
The volcano is not the only thing that has erupted in Taylor's classroom -- student engagement has as well.
"It is really cool," said third-grader Juliette Sinor. "You can draw on it and make different patterns."
Taylor agrees the SMART Board can help students become more engaged. "Not because the board is up there," he said, "but because of the things the teacher can do to engage the kids on it."
Taylor says the district is doing a good job of providing SMART Board training for teachers. "For teachers to be able to take full advantage of it takes time," he said. He feels that teachers are excited about the technology and working hard to learn how to use it to best benefit students.
"I don't think you can understand it until you see it in use," said Taylor. Wilton parents will have that opportunity from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday night at TechExpo 2.0 at Cider Mill. The Technology Advisory Committee is inviting parents to see, use and support the use of educational technology in the classrooms.
"If parents are aware of the technology being used, it will allow parents to support the students better at home," said Taylor.
What do you think about the use of SMART Boards in Wilton Public Schools? Please leave comments below.
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