Project Description Donna Klein Educational Need Like many teachers in the classroom, I face many challenges. My kindergarten class size is large, with 26 students. I have students diagnosed as ADHD, some that require speech support, an ELL learner, and many different ability levels. I have students that learn best by listening to me, those that need to see what I’m teaching, and some that need to connect hands-on with the subject matter to learn. I want to vary the manner in which I teach, but time is at a premium. My goal is twofold – (1) I’m seeking a way to differentiate instruction to reach all my kindergartners, and (2) I’m searching for a manner to effectively manage instructional resources that will maximize my teaching time, while minimizing repetitive preparation time. An interactive whiteboard can effectively meet those needs, in particular, a SMART Board. What is it? According to SMART Technologies Inc. (2007), an interactive whiteboard combines “the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer… The touch-sensitive display connects to your computer and digital projector to show your computer image. You can then control computer applications directly from the display, write notes in digital ink and save your work to share later.” It also offers tremendous benefits to the kindergarten classroom. Neal Starkman, in an article written for T.H.E. Journal, shares that, “Smart Boards--interactive whiteboards in general--are relatively easy to use. Testament to that is found in Kellie Gaffney's classroom at Liberty Elementary School in Flower Mound, TX. Gaffney taught

her students-kindergarteners--how to calibrate the board. Gaffney uses her Smart Board every day, for literature, for phonics, even for tutoring. Her assessment scores are continually rising. And her students are now so savvy, they pretend they're the teacher. ‘They can use it on their own,’ she says. ‘They want to go do it.’” Starkman adds later in the same article, “the bottom line on interactive whiteboards is found in what Kellie Gaffney noticed outside her kindergarten classroom. ‘When students walk by our room,’ she says, ‘they gaze sideways and walk slower. When teachers use these boards, the students know it's going to be a fun day.’” (Starkman, 2006) Technology-Integrated Strategy In an article for the online Teachers.net Gazette, Dr. Mary Ann Bell (2002), offers a variety of reasons why she likes interactive whiteboards for classroom use: •

Because of its interactivity, the whiteboard is an excellent tool for demonstrations, from the demonstrator’s perspective, as well as the audience’s. This is particularly important in the kindergarten classroom because of the extensive amount of modeling used in instruction.

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It is a colorful tool, with the ability to utilize a variety of colored pens. Students respond positively to this type of visual in instructional presentations.

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It allows the teacher to differentiate instruction. All students learn differently. Some are auditory learners, some visual, others tactile. The interactive whiteboard supports differentiated instruction to accommodate all these learning styles. While the teacher delivers instruction verbally, lessons can also be supported visually, and with hands-on participation on the interactive whiteboard.

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It is age-appropriate for all learners.

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An interactive whiteboard can stretch the resources of a one-computer classroom. One lesson can have contributions from students working at a computer, from those working at the interactive whiteboard, and the entire class discussing the activity.

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According to author David Johassen, the interactive whiteboard is a “mindtool”, or “devices… which encourage use of technology to encourage critical thinking in students”, because of its ease of use, interaction with the classroom of students, and variety of existing software available for teaching purposes.

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Ease of use for students with fine motor skill difficulties. This describes many kindergartners.

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Its interactivity!

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It successfully integrates with other technologies, e.g. digital camera, video camera, scanned images, Internet, etc. These can all be displayed, marked on, text added, saved, etc.

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Printed copies can be made from the screen work, as well as saved for future use.

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Students love it… it’s a “kid magnet!”

Additionally, in an article written for techLEARNING.com, Amber Price, an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher, offers ways she has used the SMART Board with students and teachers. (Price, 2006) I have included just those I consider applicable to my kindergarten classroom:

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Graphic organizers – brainstorm, record ideas, regroup by dragging and dropping – I see this as an excellent tool to aid in the introduction of K-W-L charts and Venn diagrams.

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Games for learning – the SMART Board allows for interactivity.

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Interactive flannel board – this is an aspect of the whiteboard that would get extensive use in my kindergarten classroom, for story retelling.

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Click-and-Drag activities – “Most of the activities I do with the SMARTboard involve click-and-drag activities. I sometimes call them electronic worksheets, but they are a great way to review concepts the students have already learned.” (Price, 2006)

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Interactive websites – group lesson or an individual/small group center.

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PowerPoint presentations.

And, my own compelling reason, based on observing the whiteboard in use, is that it maximizes teaching time, while minimizing preparation time for lessons. As so much time is spent in repetitive lesson preparation in order to teach the curriculum in a varied manner, the interactive whiteboard serves as a large, touch-screen computer, capable of creating and storing many essentials for lessons that are repeatedly utilized. Once created and saved for future use, this frees up valuable time and resources for other instructional needs. Recently, my students completed a graphing activity for St. Patrick’s Day, involving the use of Lucky Charms cereal. With an activity such as this, extensive preparation and modeling is the norm. To prepare for the lesson, I had to create a graph on a portable whiteboard with dry erase markers, and add pictures to the graph of all eight Lucky

Charms’ marshmallow shapes. To be realistic, and for the students to easily recognize the shapes during the lesson, this involved scanning pictures from the box, creating a viewable picture of each shape, printing on card stock, cutting apart, laminating, and recutting prior to attaching the pictures to the graph. After modeling how to sort and graph the marshmallow shapes, the graph created on the whiteboard had to be erased in order for the whiteboard to be used for future lessons. While the pictures are available for next year, the graph must again be recreated to model the lesson. Utilizing a SMART Board for this lesson would have allowed for incorporation of pictures onto the board so the graphing activity could have been visually manipulated – this type of modeling for students would have been more similar to the activity they ultimately experienced. It also would have allowed for all visuals (graph, pictures, modeled activity, questions) to be saved when the lesson was completed, for future use. The SMART Board room set-up requires a SMART Board, an LCD/Multimedia computer projector, and a laptop computer. As I already have a district-issued laptop, my needs involve procuring the interactive whiteboard and projector. Mike Ballard is the Coordinator of Instructional Technology of the Stafford County Public Schools in Stafford, Virginia. In a review of SMART Boards written for the October 2002 issue of MultiMedia Schools, he submits a Report Card, with grades assigned to Installation, Features, Ease of Use, and Product Support. In his review, each area of consideration receives an “A”, and he assigns the SMART Board an Overall Rating of 5 stars (Maximum rating: 5 stars), with an overall recommendation of Outstanding. Noteworthy for my consideration, he states, “The projectors used in this evaluation cost more than the SMART Boards and are well worth the money. The projectors do, however, pose a

significant added cost that must be figured into the total cost of ownership before purchasing one of these interactive whiteboards.” Furthermore, Ballard, in his recommendation, states, “This is an excellent product. The SMART Board's potential for bringing real integration of technology into day-to-day instruction is tremendous. This device is not inexpensive, however, particularly when the cost of a suitable zoomcapable multimedia projector with sufficient lumens for use in a classroom is factored in.” (Ballard, 2002) SMART Boards can be fixed, or portable. Initially, it was my intent to seek a SMART Board for building use, i.e. portable. However, from my observation of the SMART Board during a recent district professional development day, and talking to teachers who use the board in their teaching, the optimal teaching and learning experience is for the board to be integrated into the classroom for everyday use, rather than brought in for specific lessons, or the class going to a remote location for a lesson because that is where the SMART Board is located. Because of this self-imposed requirement, I may face challenges in funding procurement, as this has turned from a building-based initiative into one that is classroom/grade-level based, thereby having an impact on less students. A budget analysis is also necessary for funding purposes. SMART does not publish prices on its website. Rather, they provide a list of authorized resellers to contact with pricing questions. In the past, SMARTer Kids Foundation offered noncompetitive grants to educational institutions when purchasing products, thereby lowering the price. From past experience, after submission of the required paperwork, this grant was virtually automatic. This type of fund assistance has been replaced with an educational pricing

program for the equipment. Essentially, no paperwork is now necessary, and educational institutions automatically receive special pricing. In the screen capture at the end of this document, note the “Total” under the heading “Interactive whiteboard”, from the SMART website. Estimated total cost for an interactive whiteboard set-up is $5,099. This includes the projector ($1,200), replacement bulbs X 3 years ($1,500, or, $500 per year), interactive whiteboard ($1,400), and laptop ($999). Since I already have a district-issued laptop, this reduces the price by $999, for an estimated total of $4,100. Possible funding sources include building funds, district technology funds, funds from submission of a PTC (Parent Teacher Council) Proposal, grants available for technology purchases, and fundraising (Staples Recycle for Education http://staplesrecyclefored.com/ and FundingFactory http://www.fundingfactory.com/), which also supports the kindergarten science/recycling curriculum. Implementation Plan •

Identify the criteria that I feel offer a compelling reason to incorporate an interactive whiteboard into my classroom (above). These will be utilized for possible future grant writing purposes. Supporting information will be stored on the SIG Annotated Links Page under SMARTBoard. (Completed)

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Attend district professional development on March 13, 2007 re: Introduction to SMART Boards, facilitated by Cheryl Outley, Regional Director Northwest Ohio and Michigan. Topics include SMART Board features, how it is used to engage and motivate students, and how to utilize the technology to change the way I teach and students learn. (Completed)

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Locate and research funding opportunities. While numerous sources have been located, this will be updated continuously. Supporting information will be stored on the SIG Annotated Links Page under Grants/Fundraising. (Completed)

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Discussion with principal. (Ongoing) o Outcome of SIT visit to elementary school to observe SMART Board “in action”, and cost implications. o Intent to procure SMART Board dedicated to my room only, sharing supporting criteria above. o Building funds availability. o District technology funds availability. o PTC (Parent Teacher Council) Proposal. o Possible fundraising, school-wide, that supports SMART Board acquisition and kindergarten recycling curriculum.

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After determining availability of building/district contribution, write and submit proposal to PTC. (Ongoing)

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Initiate recycling fundraising initiative. (Ongoing)

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If funds still necessary, begin grant writing process, noting contributions from above when writing grants. (Future)

Ideally, I would like to begin the process of grant-writing immediately. Realistically, due to time constraints and the other steps in the plan I’d like to implement first, I do not intend to make formal applications at this time. If needed, once I have determined the SMART Board applicability to the grant opportunities available, and identified the grant

criteria, timeframes, and deadlines, formal applications will be made during the upcoming summer break. The SMART Board and the Four Common Places of Education •

Someone teaching – primarily me, as my intent is to have the interactive whiteboard located in my room. My colleague kindergarten teacher would also have the board available for her use, as we do co-teach some subject matters.

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Someone learning – primarily student-focused. I would also be learning – selftaught, to become more familiar with the whiteboard, and in a professional development capacity.

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Some subject matter – I envision the SMART Board supporting all curriculum at the kindergarten level (literacy, mathematics, social studies, science).

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In some setting – my classroom.

Information from this document will be incorporated into funding proposals for future grant opportunities.

References (2007). SMART - SMART Board interactive whiteboards. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from SMART Technologies Inc. Web site: http://www2.smarttech.com/st/enUS/Products/SMART+Boards/default.htm Ballard, M (2002).SMART board interactive whiteboards. MultiMedia Schools. 9, 55-57. Bell, M. A. (2002, January). Why use an interactive whiteboard? A baker’s dozen reasons!. Retrieved April 4, 2007, from Teachers.Net Web site: http://teachers.net/gazette/JAN02/mabell.html Price, A (2006, August 1). Ten ways to get smart with SMARTboard. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from techLEARNING.com | Technology & Learning - The Resource for Education Technology Leaders Web site: http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=190301895 Starkman, N (2006).The wonders of interactive whiteboards. T.H.E. Journal. 33, 36, 38.

Figure 1. Cost per student from SMART Technologies.