Classroom technology

[Assasin]

I remember a few years ago we were talking about classroom technology and smart board.
I mention I was part of a pilot project for a school district for which I was working at the time. I can remember saying there some drawback which I also related to the school district.
1) It was not effectively used by some teachers and teacher training had to be prioritized
2) The board was from a special funding and there needs to be funding set aside as a budget line for repairs and maintenance after the warranty is up.
3) Life span might not be what the vendors were selling as it is new technology and without thorough testing in different condition, it is hard to say if it will live up to what is promised
4) Get references from people who has been using this technology for a while and don’t let the glee of the technology overwhelm you.
5) Hire professional and train them to take care of problems
I can remember myself and Iman talking about this.
I just spoke to some teachers about this and they tell me a lot of the boards are no longer in use as they are in need of repair. The district can’t afford to repair them when they are broken as the 3 year warranty is up. No maintenance contract, no repair techs and parts are hard to come by.

These are some of the things with new technology that we have to be mindful of. You realize when the engineers, designers and manufacturers is finished with their job, then and only then some people have to deal with the flaws, misconfiguration and designs.

[Islandman]

Yes that is the kind of technology that you should make sure you are well funded before you implement. My daughters school still has them and they are useful but I can't say I see where it makes that big of an improvement in the overall teaching experience. Eliminates the need for a projector I guess.

You should always think through things properly before you implement new technology. I have read stories about NGOs going to rural Africa and switching clinics,etc from their manual records system to a computer based system, then later when the computer breaks down or power is lost for long periods they are nowhere to be found and the people are screwed.

[Peter R]

To use a smartboard to its full effectiveness you need to be a "power user" which entails a fair bit of training and practice. Sellers will provide a couple of hours of training for teachers when they first deliver the board but they're on their own after that, and unless the teacher is willing to spend more hours on his/her own experimenting, the smartboard can risk becoming just an expensive touchscreen.

What would be effective is a teacher identifying one feature or capability that appeals to her for a particular lesson and to develop it in the first instance and go from there.

[Assasin]

Yeah man and when they demonstrate is seems easy to use until they leave. LOL!!! and a few senior teachers who are not tech savy take over.