Every elementary classroom in the Neenah Joint School District will have Smart Boards for the 2015-16 school year after the District was awarded a $50,000 grant through the Wisconsin Technology Initiative.
With the grant, the District will purchase 39 Smart Boards. Grant recipients are required to match 10 percent of the funding, so Neenah will purchase four additional boards to cover every elementary classroom that currently doesn’t have a Smart Board. Many Neenah classrooms already have the technology with most of the funding coming from Parent-Teacher Organizations.
Smart Boards are interactive whiteboards that use touch screen detection for user input in the same way as normal PC input devices. Among many features, the boards include “digital ink,” which allow users to have drawing or handwriting capabilities with a finger or a pen. The boards also work with any program loaded or available on the host computer.
“With the use of Smart Technology, elementary teachers will have access to a powerful interactive tool that truly motivates and engages students,” said District Director of Technology Matt Anderson. “The ability of staff to share communication software through their Smart Board with their class creates an age-appropriate window to collaborate and share with other classrooms and students anywhere in the world.”
The grant is funded by the TOSA Foundation and seeks to enhance student academic achievement, 21st century skills, attendance and engagement though the effective use of interactive classroom technologies in K-12 schools.
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