TTU opens new SMART interactive lab for teachers

Posted by Karen Lykins - Wednesday, January 13 2010
klykins@tntech.edu
Office of Communications & Marketing

The traditional classroom just met its match this week as Tennessee Tech University opened the doors to its new SMART room.
Veteran area teachers and elementary students alike saw a glimpse into how interactive technology will change the way they teach and learn. With six different technologies created and donated by SMART Technologies Inc., the room put creativity and control into the hands of participants.
At the open house, children and adults alike interacted with three touch-sensitive boards connected to computers. With a few taps or a digital pen, they ran software or transformed the board into an art tablet.
Co-directors Carl Owens and Jeremy Wendt, TTU College of Education faculty members, hosted the event. It was hard to distinguish Owens’ level of enthusiasm from that of the first graders in the room when it came to using the technology.
"This equipment allows teachers to bring energy and excitement to the classroom because it is so interactive," said Owens. "It reaches a dimension of learning that allows more students to be successful.
“We have three goals: to use the room as a College of Education teaching model; to conduct workshops for area teachers; and to conduct research on just how effective this technology is when it comes to teaching and learning,” said Owens.
About 100 interactive whiteboards are scattered throughout Putnam County alone, and they are becoming more and more desirable as the number of teachers learning to effectively use them increases. In fact, Wendt says that some local school systems plan to have at least one in every classroom by 2012.
“This changes the whole dynamic of how teachers present their lessons,” said Wendt.
As a primary source of teacher education and training in the region, TTU’s College of Education drew on the opportunity to partner with the technology company to equip the university’s first SMART room. With about $70,000 worth of equipment and upgrades, the room will be used by first-time freshmen as well as veteran educators who want to update their skills.
“This technology comes with software that allows teachers to create customized lesson plans,” said Owens. “Teachers and students can make notes on the board in digital ink and save their work, including the notes.”
The board adjusts to the height of the students, making them easy for even first graders to reach. The room also has a Senteo interactive response system to poll students on answers and two wireless airliners that give teachers and students the ability to move around the classroom while working on the screen.
Wendt says this technology can be one of the answers to the challenge of teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM subjects, to elementary students and even older students. One important aspect of improving student performance, and just increasing student interest in the subjects at an early age, is teaching teachers how to create interesting, effective lessons.
"These are tools, like textbooks, but the technology will allow us to create learning environments more responsive to student needs," said Wendt.
“Several hundred College of Education students have already been trained with the technology, and the current group of freshmen will work with it for four years,” he added. “This will allow the future educators to hit the ground running and make the transition to teaching with technology in their own classrooms much smoother.”
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