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 * SMARTBOARDS IN MATHEMATICS**

(Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://paulcuffemstacademy.com/SmartBoard.aspx) = = =**Introduction:**= Technology is a continuously growing part of today’s society, and especially in today’s school systems. More and more schools are increasing technology to help better teach their students. One of the biggest technological advances in schools has come to be the SMARTBoard, an interactive white board that has given teachers more academic possibilities than they can imagine. Over 1.6 million of these interactive whiteboards are being used in K-12 classrooms all over the world (Futuresource Consulting). With the large push to improve math scores in the United States, the SMARTBoard has been pushed into mathematics classrooms of all ages. SMARTBoards have given math teachers a new and engaging way to hook students on math. Instead of having students do monotonous worksheets or problems out of a book, teachers can use interactive games or websites on the SMARTBoard. Instead of having hard to follow poorly drawn pictures to explain ideas teachers now have access to easy to see and follow pictures with just one click. Instead of using pop quizzes to assess students’ progress, teachers can now use interactive assessments that engage students in math class rather than make them dread it. SMARTBoards are a new interactive technology that are helping to improve students’ attitudes and abilities in math, and will continue to grow as a part of a successful mathematics classroom.

=**A Brief History of the SMARTBoard:**= The first SMART Board was introduced in 1991, and since then the SMART Technologies Company, started by David Martin and Nancy Knowlton, has created generation after generation of new and improved interactive white boards. After years of giving lectures on slow and unstable modems, with few graphic capabilities, educators were of the first to recognize the interactive whiteboard’s potential. The SMARTBoard was the first interactive white board that offered touch control of computer applications, which allowed made it very simple for teachers and students to interact with the board (The History of SMART). Soon schools all around the world couldn’t wait to get this magical board into their classrooms. Today, currently on its sixth generation, the SMARTBoard has more capabilities than ever, allowing two students to write on and control the board at the same time, smoothing out handwriting to make it more legible, and allowing simple hand gesture to rotate, zoom, or toss objects on the board. Not only have the SMARTBoards improved, but SMART Technologies has created multiple lessons, games, and more to help users bring the capabilities of the SMARTBoard to life in their classroom.

=Advantages and Disadvantages of SMARTBoards:= If used correctly in the classroom, SMARTBoards are shown to have many advantages over whiteboards and chalkboards. Because SMARTBoards mirror the images on your computer screen, videos and virtual tours can be shown to the class with ease. The large screen and ability to zoom in and out ensures that all the students in a classroom will be able to see what the teacher is doing, and students can easily interact with the material that is being presented. But there are also some disadvantages to having a SMARTBoard. The screen can be rather touchy and the calibration can be disrupted which can be disruptive to a lesson. Also, because the SMARTBoard relies on a power source and many moving parts to function, problems can arise that make it unusable. With any piece of technology also comes a price, and the bulb for the projector alone can cost up to $300 (Touchboards).

=**SMARTBoards in Early Childhood and Elementary Math:**= SMARTBoards are incredibly effective in creating both visual and tactile sensory lessons, and by utilizing them in math, students will quickly build a lasting interest in the subject. Moreover, incorporating technology such as SMARTBoards into elementary and even early childhood classrooms can prove to be a vital part of child development. In the younger years of a child’s life, a strong focus needs to be placed on cognitive and social/emotional development to prepare the kids for their later life. According to “The Role of Technology in Educating Young Children”, it has been confirmed in many studies that students benefit in many ways from technology use, and that the early years of their life are vital to development in those areas (2008, p. 1). The SMARTBoard is currently the most effective technological tool in education today because SMARTBoards allow teachers and educators to create interactive learning environments (2008, p.1). There are many simple ways to include SMARTBoards into early childhood and elementary level math lessons. Getting students engaged early on in math is a great way to motivate students to pursue furthering their education in mathematics. Math games can be interactive for the entire class to play; for example, there are games where students can come up and click the dice to roll them. Additionally, SMARTBoards make it easy to collect and graph data for the whole class to see. SMARTBoards are also ideal for working on math pattern lessons in a way that keeps the class motivated and engaged. There are many websites offering free resources, lesson plans, and activities for SMARTBoards, such as (LISTED BELOW).The Teacher's Guide, SMARTBoard Resources, and SMARTBoard Elementary Resources.

This video shows a few out of the many ways to effectively use a SMARTBoard in elementary math lessons.

=**SMARTBoards in Middle School Math:**= Middle school is often the time when students begin to lose interest in math and need something more engaging to help them learn. Using SMARTBoards in middle school math is just the trick to keep students interested and excited to learn. Middle school math teachers can go to [|SMART Exchange] and find thousands of free lessons ranging from basic fraction lessons with a cooking theme to lessons on multiplication properties with a basketball theme. All the lessons allow for students to have the chance to interact with the teacher and solve problems either individually on the SMARTBoard or together as a class. Teachers can even search SMART Exchange to find lessons and resources for specific a grade level or topic. Besides using just SMART Exchange, there are plenty of math websites that have interactive games that now, with the use of the SMARTBoard, teachers can have the whole class play rather than just one student at the computer. Some of the best math websites that middle school teachers use include; [|Math Playground], [|Math Play], [|Johnnie’s Math Page], and [|Cool Math]. With the SMARTBoard middle school math teachers have more options than ever to fully engage students in their lessons.

=SMARTBoards in High School Math:= As students advance in their mathematics studies, the technology that is used in the classroom needs to evolve as well. If high school math teachers know how to fully utilize their SMARTBoards it can benefit their students’ learning. Because SMARTBoards have the ability to save any notes or worksheets that the instructor went over in a particular lesson, any student that was absent will have access to it and will be able to follow along as if they had been there. This access to the lessons also benefits students that are doing work at home and need to be refreshed on a certain topic. A study at TechBoston Academy in Boston’s inner city showed that the use of SMARTBoards in high schools can increase student engagement because students get involved with the technology (Colburn). The article also noted that ninety-five percent of their students are routinely accepted into college (Colburn). If all high schools took this approach to incorporating technology in their education, they would be putting their students on a better path towards success.

=The Future of SMARTBoards:= Since SMARTBoards came out in 1991, Smart Technologies has constantly been working to improve this product. Their most recent release is the SMARTBoard 885ix. This interactive whiteboard has many features that weren’t available on the previous models. One of their biggest improvements was including the multitouch feature. This will allow two users to simultaneously interact with the screen, while not affecting with the other user is doing. The 885ix also includes a more advanced pen tray, SMART Ink which smoothes the appearance of the user’s writing, and object awareness which recognizes the user’s finger as a pen and their palm as an eraser (SMART Technologies). All of these features work in a more advanced operating system that is built around Windows 7. Here is a short YouTube video that shows some of these features in action.

=Conclusion:= Technology is a very prominent part of society today, and is becoming increasingly important in education. Students can benefit greatly from all different forms of technology; their cognitive, social, and emotional development improves with the integration of SMARTBoards into daily lessons. SMARTBoards are a great way to begin early on to motivate students to get involved with mathematics. There are so many ways to present interactive math lessons to students with the use of SMARTBoards, and SMARTBoards continuously work to improve the abilities and opinions of students regarding mathematics. SMARTBoards can be utilized and translated across lessons in all grades from early childhood through high school. Although there are a few disadvantages to SMARTBoards, the advantages are very worth the price.

=Citations:=

 Colburn, J. (2011, April 19). SMART Boards could revolutionize the classroom. //JoeTech.com//. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from []

Futuresource Consulting. (n.d.). Quick facts and stats. In //SMART Tech//. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.smarttech.com/us/About+SMART/About+SMART/Newsroom/Quick+facts+and+stats

The history of SMART. (n.d.). In //SMART Tech//. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.smarttech.com/us/About+SMART/About+SMART/Innovation/Beginnings+of+an+industry The Role of Technology in Educating Young Children. (2008, November 13). In //interactive SMARTBoards for early education//. Retrieved February 10, 2012

SMART Technologies (2012). SMART Board interactive whiteboards. //SMART//. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://smarttech.com/

Touchboards (2012). SMART Price List. //Touchboards//. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.touchboards.com/smartboards/pricelist.asp

Photo: Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://paulcuffemstacademy.com/SmartBoard.aspx