Thursday, Dec 01, 2005
Dubai: Students at the School of Research, Science may never know the painful sound of fingernails scratching on a chalkboard.
The dust-covered board that normally would be the focus of their classroom has been replaced by a huge touch-sensitive computer screen called the Smart board.
The school is one of the first in Dubai to implement an interactive, computer-driven whiteboard that allows students and teachers to share assignments, edit video and text using their fingers as pens.
Installed in early November, the school has 32 boards. Teachers claim to find the new technology invaluable. "It adds flexibility to our teaching practices by allowing so many variables to be used quickly," said second grade teacher Eleanor Kehoe.
"I can use video, audio or plain text to appeal to all the different learning styles within the classroom, visual, audio or kinesthetic," she added.
The touch-sensitive display connects to a laptop and digital projector to show a computer image. The teacher can then control computer applications directly from the display, write notes in digital ink and save work to use or share later.
During a recent visit to the school, students used the board to demonstrate spelling and sentence structure. The children drew on the board with their fingertips and explained how they came up with their answers.
John Nash, ICT specialist and fellow teacher, said has helped him get the attention of his students by providing a new way of presenting everyday school work
"In kindergarten, for example, it is difficult to get a child to draw around a shape on a sheet, but with this they can trace around the shape on the screen with smiley faces or stars," said Nash.
Nash added this will expand the range of resources available to teachers. Through the smart board software, lesson plans from across the globe can be published and downloaded.
Smart boards are being used in more than 150,000 classrooms in the US, with even more being put to use in 75 other countries. Regionally there is a slower adoption rate of such technology because of a lack of exposure to families, said Naser Sha'sha'a, industry analyst at IDC. "I think involving technology in education is the right thing to do. Imagine a school kid at the age of 10 using the technology and computers. When he reaches the university level, he will not face any problem with any of the programs or the assignments," said Sha'sha'a.
Nash agreed: "You can't put a price on having smart boards in the classroom."
Gulfnews 2005. All rights reserved.
