Teachers use SMARTboard technology to engage students

Hutchinson Middle School teacher Kris Maiers’ sixth-grade math class is learning about means, medians and modes in a whole new way.

Maiers was one of the two teachers in the school to receive a new SMARTboard in her classroom. She uses the board to download lessons and pages right from the textbook onto a screen at the front of the room.

Students can also “draw” on the board using electronic markers that can highlight, underline or write in different colors, using the technology much like a whiteboard.

“I just got this about a month ago,” Maiers said during class last Friday. “I was a little surprised because there were only a few in the district, so I was excited. I was a little scared because I’m not exactly tech-savvy, so I jumped in with both feet.”

She can either use the mouse on her desktop computer to navigate through options or select an icon, or let her fingers do the walking — the SMARTboard is also a touch-screen.

“The touch of a finger can really change things,” she said.

Sixth-grade student Lucas Pikal likes learning math in Maiers’ class and he also likes using the fancy new technology.

“It’s really nice and fun,” he said. “She just downloads pages from the book and we can correct our papers.”

While a page from the book is displayed on the screen, Maiers can pick up one of the colored markers and underline or highlight key terms or vocabulary she wants the students to pay special attention to. The markers don’t really draw on the screen, instead digital colors appear that matches that of the marker.

“I don’t know how it knows what color, but it knows,” Maiers said.

Her students theorized that there were weight sensors in the shelves under the markers that tell the computer what color was chosen. Users can also pick up the eraser and remove anything he or she has drawn, or click on the eraser icon and erase things with a finger. Maiers said the students really get a kick out of using their fingers for everything, but she enjoys the old-school features of having the tangible marker or eraser in her hand.

“The SMARTboard people did that because of us older generation teachers who need that thing in our hands,” she said, laughing.

“It’s cool,” said sixth-grader Sarah Waller. “You can go up there and touch the screen and it will do what you tell it.”

For the full story, check out the Tuesday, Sept. 18 print edition of the Leader.

(Lesley Christianson is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader.)
christianson@hutchinsonleader.com