New technology in my high school NOT being used , opinions ?

[v7z730ib]

I'm currently a freshman in High School , and this year there is a new building . It is known as the Freshman building because the Freshman core classes are in there . The buildings are brand new , and so is everything in them . Cabinet , Desks , Chairs , EVERYTHING . Included in these new buildings are Smart board [ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UvoGfEfZ_W4/S9ni423fc4I/AAAAAAAAABc/xmn_GoGY2Yw/s1600/smartboard.jpg This isn't the new model , but the new ones have projectors built into the top , and are WAY bigger ] They're interactive boards that accept input via Stylus's , with a built in projector , are connected to a laptop via wifi . By the end of the year , every class with these boards will have a class set of tablets that also connect to it via wifi . We have software that comes with it . The classroom also has a speaker system built into the walls , which are connected to a microphone attached to a neckstrap for the teacher .
Sounds perfect , right ?
Wrong .

1/4 of my teachers who have this smartboard in there rooms even turn it on .
1/2 of my teachers use the microphone .

The rest of them don't even turn it on . They just use it as a projector screen .

Is this crazy , or what ? Those things where probably NOT cheap , and my school isn't even implementing them . There's 20 new classes with this . I don't think even half of them use them .

Worst of all , this is the new standard for new buildings . My school needs new buildings badly , our buildings are from around the 1960s - 70s . You won't believe how hot and cold it is in there . We have janky little fans , and radiators that don't work .
We also had these at my old Middle School , but not even one teacher used them . Why ? We didn't have the software for it . @_@ The Instillation CD's got lost .

Also , both my Middle & High schools are one of the less nice schools . Meaning we have lower test scores , lower attendances rates , & less money . Some of my friends from other High Schools [ that have more money ] have them in almost all of their classes .
Is this pissing anyone else off ? Considering the way our state budget is , I have no idea how they can afford this . Makes it even worse that they don't use it .. We could have put that money to better use . & The tablets ? I'll be suprised if those ever leave the box .

This really disappointments me . Anyone else have any other opinions ?

 

[PvilleComp]

1/4 of my teachers who have this smartboard in there (sp their) rooms even turn it on .
2/4 of my teachers use the microphone.

In my ancient chalk dust days 2/4 was more commonly known as 1/2 - we learned that WAY before High School, even with "stone tablets."

The rest of them don't even turn it on. They just use it as a projector paper. [ I don't know what it's called , but the things you pull down to point the projector at ] .

I think the word you are looking for is Screen?

Is this crazy, or what? Those things where probably NOT cheap, and my school isn't even implementing them. There's (There are) 20 new classes (classrooms) with this. I don't think even half of them use them.

Considering that the Board of Education probably invested several million in these for the district, I would agree that if ?2/4's? of the teachers were not using them; that is an issue.

& The most shocking of all? Both my Middle & High schools are one of the more ?ghetto" schools. Meaning we have lower test scores, lower attendances rates, & less money. I hear some of the nicer high schools have them in ALL the classes..

Shocker

Sorry - I'm not trying to ?dis? you. However, you need to understand that to make a persuasive argument you need to be credible. In order to be credible you need to understand how to communicate effectively and correctly. If you want to tilt at windmills (ask your English teacher), you need to be able to form a cohesive and rational argument with correct grammar to avoid being blown off as a dumb "donkey."

I also agree with you. I believe that School Districts throughout the country are more concerned with ?technology? then fundamentals. The truth of the matter is that fundamentals matter more than tools. You can always use a tool to make a challenging task easier; however, if you do not understand the underlying fundamentals of a tool, you are destined to make mistakes and encounter problems you cannot solve. The countries that are kicking our butts in science and technology are the very ones with the least science and technology in their primary/secondary educational systems. They teach the fundamentals because mastery of the fundamentals allows you to do far more in the end than a loose grip on advanced theory.

 

[v7z730ib]

In my ancient chalk dust days 2/4 was more commonly known as 1/2 - we learned that WAY before High School, even with "stone tablets."



I think the word you are looking for is Screen?



Considering that the Board of Education probably invested several million in these for the district, I would agree that if “2/4's” of the teachers were not using them; that is an issue.



Shocker

Sorry - I'm not trying to “dis” you. However, you need to understand that to make a persuasive argument you need to be credible. In order to be credible you need to understand how to communicate effectively and correctly. If you want to tilt at windmills (ask your English teacher), you need to be able to form a cohesive and rational argument with correct grammar to avoid being blown off as a dumb "donkey."

I also agree with you. I believe that School Districts throughout the country are more concerned with “technology” then fundamentals. The truth of the matter is that fundamentals matter more than tools. You can always use a tool to make a challenging task easier; however, if you do not understand the underlying fundamentals of a tool, you are destined to make mistakes and encounter problems you cannot solve. The countries that are kicking our butts in science and technology are the very ones with the least science and technology in their primary/secondary educational systems. They teach the fundamentals because mastery of the fundamentals allows you to do far more in the end than a loose grip on advanced theory.

Okay , well I typed all of that on my phone , & my whole point of this wasn't to impress anyone . I wasn't trying to persuade anybody , I was sharing something with the people here on A|C & asking for thoughts , but thank you for the constructive criticism . The reason I put 2/4 instead of 1/2 was to show that I have four classes with the screens , and that it wasn't every Freshman class that had the screens . I guess I must have worded that wrong . But again , thank you for the corrections .
Was the shocker part meant to be some kind of insult ? I hope it wasn't , I understand the whole correcting my mistakes thing , but adding shocker to that was just unnecessary .

I would have thought that there would have been some kind of training for the teachers to use this , so they would at-least know how to turn it on .

 

[PvilleComp]

In my area, the school budget is close to $1 billion. Several years ago, pre economic crash, a contract was issued to equip every classroom in the county with these kinds of boards at an expense of over $100 million in total. Now they are talking about closing some of the smaller schools in the district despite the fact they are the schools with the highest grades and testing averages in the county. The smaller schools also do not have these boards installed yet.

Back in my corporate days a company I worked for was approached about Smartboards when they first came out (late 90’s early 00’s). They were originally targeting corporations with these for their “note taking” and “meeting capture” capabilities. I have to admit that after seeing a demonstration of the early first generation models the “cool factor” was very high. However, at the end of the day we decided that the “cool factor” did not justify the price and we passed.

Your teachers probably were given a brief overview of how to use the boards, but like professionals in every business, it takes an “out of the box” thinker in the organization to illustrate what the tool can help to accomplish.

As the clips below show – some teachers understand how to use technology to motivate and enrich the learning experience even without Smartboards!

YouTube - Halloween 2010: Math Teacher has trouble playing a video in class

YouTube - 2009 Halloween Class Video

Show these to your teacher and see if they start to understand how the multimedia aspect of these tools work.

 

[Yourdogsdead]

The smartboard we had in our science classroom was fun. The teacher did use it, for some things. The microphone is really not needed though.

Most of these things are purchased using grants though, so the money really may not have been able to go anywhere else.

 

[ls377]

My high school had the same problem. I only remember one or tow of my teachers ever using them, and about half of them had the option. They even put one in the bandroom! It, of course, never got used, and the district continues to have budget problems.

 

[Blkbear]

Many schools get these upgrades, funding and grants that are tied to strings that force them to use the money for it, or risk losing it (the money), which means if they don't use the money for the tech upgrades, they loose that money, as it's ONLY earmarked for the tech, not the training of the teachers to use it.

Many time any training of the teachers to use these upgrades, will often be on their own time, or trial and error or sitting down and reading the manuals. Some teachers that might have the new equipment in their rooms, may just ignore it and keep teaching the way that they always have, and sadly many times the upgrades go unused for a year or two, before anyone starts using it. Sad but true.