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**Introduction to the SMART Board** Compared to when most of us students were in elementary school, modern classrooms require more hands on activity in order to engage students. The concept of a lesson plan having the ability to engage students while being an interactive lesson between students and teacher is a dream come true. The SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that teachers can incorporate with their lesson plans, daily activies, or other activities within the classroon.
 * SMART Boards In the Early Childhood Classroom**

**The Smart Board in Relation to Web 2.0** According to Tim O'Reilly of the O'Reilly Media company, Web 2.0 is, "associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered sharing, and callaboration on the World Wide Web." A SMART board is an application that can be used in the classroom that incorporates all the elements in which makeup Web 2.0. Though teachers can create their own lessons with the Smart Board, many lessons and activities are available online for classroom use. By participating in these lessons using the SMART board, students are able to interact with each other while sharing information. Other components of Web 2.0 are also relevant with the SMART board technology. Callaboration can be seen in several ways; callaboration between the students and teacher with the sharing of the information during activity, but also the callaboration of lesson plans online that can be acessed by others.

**History of SMART Boards** The SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard created by SMART Technologies that provides touch control to many Microsoft Windows computer applications. It is connected to a LCD panel as well as a computer, which together allows the SMART Board to become interactive and bring technology in the classroom to the another level. According to Smart Tech “2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard”. Since 1991, SMART Technologies has continued to improve its design and develop newer and better models of the SMART Board which has overall helped enriched presentations across the world.

**Advantages** SMART Boards have many advantages when integrating them into classrooms. First off the interactive whiteboard allows teachers to bring their presentations to another level. Students are able to interact with learning by coming up to the SMART Board and writing or participating in other functions the SMART Board has to offer. Another advantage of the SMART Board is any interaction you or students have had with the interactive white board can be saved, so incase a student misses a day you can still show them exactly what the class did so they don’t get too far behind. One cool advantage of SMART Boards is that they can be connected in different locations so educators can communicate with people in several places at a time, and work collaboratively on a project. SMART Boards are also connected to the internet so the whole class can then view websites on a larger screen rather than a small computer screen which altogether engages the entire classroom. A huge advantage of SMART Boards is that they reach the broad range of students in your classroom. Some students are better visual learners which will be aided by the use of the SMART Boards, some are hands on learners which too will be aided by the use of SMART Boards. In addition some students have disabilities and will be able to express their learning and communication with peers through the use of the SMART Board. In regards to early childhood education students can gain independence, become engaged in learning, have their needs adapted for them, as well as learn more about technology. Through my experiences with SMART Boards in early childhood settings, I’ve seen students mark their lunch orders, attendance, and daily roles using the SMART Board. It was a way for them to independently select what they wanted to do that day. Another advantage in regards to early childhood settings is that SMART Boards screens are scratch and water resistant, which will help reduce some worries!The SMART Board brought the lessons, activities, and stories to whole different level and really engaged all the students and provided a well rounded educational experience.

**Disadvantages** Although SMART Boards have helped take education to the next level, there are some disadvantages. First off training is required before you are able to receive a SMART Board in your classroom. Most of the time, these training sessions requires someone from outside of your school district to come in and explain how they work, which can cost money towards your school. The training really depends on the teacher, some can pick it up fast and be a SMART Board pro in no time, others will need time to understand and feel comfortable using the SMART Board. Another disadvantage of SMART Boards, like most technology, is the maintenance. SMART Boards require maintenance to make sure everything is running smoothly, which may require school districts to hire the right technology support system. Another disadvantage of SMART Boards, is they look a lot like white boards, but be careful not to use markers on the board for the chance that they can be ruined. Especially in an early childhood classroom, keep away markers and crayons! A big disadvantage of SMART Boards is the cost. For a basic model of a SMART Board it costs just under $1,000, but many models cost more. Keep in mind this is for each board, so if you plan on adding them to several rooms it will quickly add up.

**Future Direction** SMART boards are not extremely common in early childhood classrooms. With so many advantages the SMART board offers, we would like to see more of them in these classrooms. They provide students with the opportunity to learn in a different way. Not all students learn the same way. The SMART board offers differentiation and a way to individualize student learning. Many K-12 classrooms have SMART boards in their classroom, so if children go into their kindergarten class and already know how to work and interact with a SMART board, then the teaching and learning styles will be overall more effective. For future use of SMART boards in early childhood education, teachers can use the SMART board to provide lessons and demonstrations for large groups, small groups, or student directed groups. They could also be a learning tool for physical and occupational therapy, aiding students in certain exercises working on their fine or gross motor skills. SMART boards in an early childhood classroom would fix the problem of limited computer use for so many children. Often, early childhood classrooms only have a few computers, and when a large group instruction is aided by a computer, a lesson is difficult to portray to all students. A SMART board is large, interactive, colorful, and a fun way for all students to participate. As a tool that hopefully in the future is in most early childhood classrooms, it will offer students a new and much more beneficial style of learning, and provide teachers with new tools to use for their teaching methods and strategies. An early childhood classroom in Minnetonka, Minnesota uses SMART boards in their early childhood classroom, and has so far loved the results. Here is a short video clip of an actual demonstration in their classroom.

[] **Conclusion** SMART boards are necessary in an early childhood classroom. Not only is it preparing the students for what is to come in their later K-8 years, it provides differentiated and individualized instruction for all types of learners. A SMART board helps and assists with lessons, and provides teachers with opportunities that they may not be able to have with just a few computers ordinary early education classrooms have. The earlier technology is integrated into the classroom, the stronger effect technology will have on a child’s life in the future. Since America has adapted the technology trend, providing a future generation with multiple sources of technology in the classroom early on, including the use of a SMART board will help them adapt to this electronic world.

**References** Canfield, D., & Haight, M. (n.d.). How Smart is a SMART Board in an Early Childhood Classroom?. In //debcanfield@fortosage.net .// Retrieved February 12, 2012 Springgay, J. (n.d.). What Is the History of SMART Boards?. In //eHow//. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from [] Technology in Early Childhood Family Education Classrooms (2009, August 6). In //YouTube//. Retrieved February 12, 2012 The History of SMART (n.d.). In //SMART//. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from [] O'Reilly, T. (2012). School of Technology. In //O'Reilly About//. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from [] Tonarely, K. (n.d.). The Disadvantages of SMART Boards (n.d.). In //eHow//. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from [] Writing, A. (n.d.). The Advantages of SMART Boards (n.d.). In //eHow//. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from []