SmartBoards Are Old School

As I am anticipating the installation of a SmartBoard in my room in the next month or so, I've come across several articles about smart desks. Touch screens, interactive, with sharing capabilities. I first saw a demonstration of this technology at the TED Conference a couple of years ago. Next, the iPhone took touch screens to a new consumer level and now the screen is the desk. Will students eventually just connect their iPhones into the desk so they can take everything with them or will all their "stuff" just be available in the "cloud?" In any event, the question I want to pose here is how do schools keep up with technology? And how do we get more technology out of the teacher's control and into the hands of the students. I am excited to get a SmartBoard. It will enhance the presentation of my material, allow me to save, share, post, etc. Students will be able to "interact" with the board as well. But does a SmartBoard increase student learning or increase the entertainment value of a lesson. Does it move students toward inquiry? Students need to have this technology in their hands and SmartTechnologies won't even allow students to download the software to create their own SmartBoard compatible presentations. I digress.

Thinking. Learning. Inquiry. Projects. Challenge.