Thinking SMART.. the possibilities are endlesss.
Curl Curl North Primary School was introduced to SMART Boards at the end of 2005 when the school was able to borrow a SMART Board for a small amount of time. When the SMART Board was demonstrated to the staff at Curl Curl North, they realised immediately the array of possibilities and what an impact this sort of technology could have on the school.
Jenny Pickering, Year 6 teacher and Assistant Principal of Curl Curl North Primary School was one of the teachers who saw the importance of the move to interactive technology. In February, 2006, not long after seeing the SMART Board in action for the first time, the school had installed four SMART Boards. This was followed by another four in July, 2006. “We looked briefly at other products and at other schools, the staff felt most comfortable with the SMART software” Says Jenny Pickering, “The SMART Board was demonstrated very effectively. [We] saw the great potential of the technology.” Curl Curl North has high hopes of becoming a fully interactive school soon. “We will have 16 [SMART Boards] by the beginning of Term 4, 2006”.
For Jenny, SMART Boards were a big step into a technologically advanced age. While she had invested in a SMART Board, it was her energy and determination to incorporate it into her teaching routine that made it effective. Now, she has successfully introduced a method of teaching that she feels keeps her students motivated. All teachers are encouraged to use the technology where possible, “The classes without a board are encouraged to use a classroom where a board has been installed wherever possible”, says Jenny. All the teachers at Curl Curl North use their interactive whiteboards in an array of ways. “The [SMART] Boards are used for teaching whole classes, for small groups of students to work on, games and activities and other interactive software, making and showing videos and animations, recording lessons, demonstrations, using the internet and even playing music.”
Seeing the benefits early.
Teachers at Curl Curl North are noticing the incredible impact that SMART Boards are having on the students, their lessons and the school. “The students are very easily engaged and find the use of the SMART Board exciting and empowering, especially when they use it to show what they can do. The technology also suits students who find working with computers, keyboards and software easier than with pencil and paper. They are able to show their true abilities”.
Jenny also finds that with her SMART Board she is able to plan and recall her lessons, “The SMART Board enables me to plan lessons carefully and has given me the flexibility to change and enhance lessons and activities constantly to meet the needs of the students” states Jenny, “The ability to recall work done previously is an enormous benefit as is the ability to take aside those experiencing difficulty and work with them again. As students work on the board it is easy to see where they make mistakes and why”. Jenny feels that the resources and galleries also provided by SMART Notebook Software are very helpful to use. “The gallery and resources are EXCELLENT! They are easily accessible and simple to use… I use them on a daily basis to help solve problems and explain concepts as the need arises.”
Creating an ICT encouraged community.
The implementation of SMART Boards has been a vast change for Curl Curl North Primary School. The teachers have felt the impact of the change, but believe it to be a huge positive. “This has probably been the biggest change for me [as a teacher] as I now do all my lesson planning in one way or another on the SMART Board… it’s a time saver, even with the initial planning and construction of the notebook file.”
Curl Curl North has also created a strong support network amongst their community. “The introduction of the technology has made it essential for teachers to engage in professional discussions and share their knowledge not only on how to use the Boards but also on how to effectively use them to achieve desired outcomes.”
The school has even gained the support of the parents to create an interactive environment for their children by supporting the installation of more SMART Boards. “The parents at this school are so impressed with the SMART Board technology that they have put all fund raising efforts towards providing the school with more and more boards. They can easily see the benefits for their children.” This supportive community has as a result given teachers the confidence to implement other interactive technologies such as digital cameras to record events, ideas, student progress and outcomes. Digital scanners have also made it easy to upload work up onto the SMART Board for analysis. As well as this, Curl Curl North is fortunate to own a Digital Blue Camera and Microscope, all of which help to create a truly interactive learning environment.
Curl Curl North Primary School’s staff undertook a challenging transformation this year in the purchase of their first interactive whiteboard and from this have created a highly successful educational facility. With an innovative and open-minded array of teachers, they were able to create a fresh, modern and inviting approach to learning through the understanding of their students needs. “ICT is a simple part of life for students today. Classrooms have to compete with a vast array of technologies that students interact with now, not to mention what they will be dealing with in the future. ICTs enhance learning in so many ways that we simply cannot ignore it.”
While the staff and students at Curl Curl North are relatively new to the concept of SMART Boards, their willingness to adapt to the ICT movement has caused them to excel in their abilities and understanding of the technology. Through this understanding they have also discovered what they can do to improve the education of their students. Jenny Pickering and her colleagues at Curl Curl North have created an attitude which is vital to realising the full potential of ICT technologies. To Jenny, “the use of the SMART Board is limited only by the imagination and confidence of the teacher and the students.”