New SMART Board Introduced to MHS

This year, both Milford High School and Lakeland High School have begun piloting a combined total of 20 new SMART Board panels in their classrooms around the schools.

After demos took place in the spring of last year at Milford, multiple projector-based SMART Boards this year have been replaced with more interactive flat screen panels. It can support up to four users at once, eliminating the awkwardness of trying to write on one side while another student is writing on the other.

These new SMART Boards (specifically model 6065) also have a higher resolution screen, allowing for sharper images on the screen. This can help those who have issues seeing the screen from the back of class interpret what is actually on the screen.

“It’s like a computer screen,” said Junior Hunter Poser. ”I can see what the screen says from farther away compared to the ones in my other classes.”

The technology department for Huron Valley Schools believes the SMART boards are going to help education.

“Personally, I think the new boards are an example of the type of technology we are going to start to see in classrooms in the near future,” said Executive Director of Technology, John Tavernier. “There’s less setup installation that is required with these displays versus a traditional SMART Board.”

However, MHS Spanish teacher Carrie Pishek (commonly referred to as “Profe”) felt that the replacement to her old SMART board was a downgrade.

“The functionality is not as comparable as the old one,”she stated,”i.e.; it’s not as responsive…”

German teacher Rich Kynast also expressed his concerns about the new technology.

“It’s a useful tool,” Kynast said,” It’s shiny and fun to play with, but there’s things I wish it had…such as being able to freeze the screen.”

When asked if the SMARTboard was more accurate, both teachers replied with a firm “no.” Each stated that they had to write slower to account for the delay on writing.

“I’m not sure if it’s user error,”Pishek stated “Or technology.”

When given more time, the answer of an upgrade or downgrade will be clear as both teachers and student will be able to adjust to the new SMART Boards.