November 2006 — Features
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Display Technology :: Picture This!
“You’ll see students in the front of the room collaborating in teams, being able to talk effectively about the knowledge that they have, and present it back in a way that everyone understands it,” she says. “That’s a lifelong skill.”
At J.P. Ryan Elementary School in Waldorf, MD, teachers have deployed whiteboard technology from GTCO CalComp to achieve similar results. Dubbed the InterWrite SchoolBoard, the device incorporates infrared wireless transmitters, which students use to answer questions and record responses with a simple click of a button. Fourth-grade teacher Jill Barnes says the interface makes learning seem like a video game—something to which youngsters are drawn.
MEMS THE WORD
A NEW TECHNOLOGY MAY TURN YOUR CELL PHONE INTO A PROJECTOR.
Teachers soon may be able to teach lessons by projecting images from personal digital assistants, according to a report published recently by MIT’s Technology Review. The magazine reports that researchers at Cornell University have developed a laser technology that could lead to the ability to project high-definition television images from devices the size of cell phones.
The new technology, dubbed MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems), allows rapid scanning of wide areas with a laser. Cornell researchers have used MEMS to develop a small projector that can cast a meter-wide image on a surface only half a meter away. The key to the technology, which is already being used in movie and television projectors, is a mirror suspended by carbon fibers.
Also making the list of new projector technology is the PowerLite 82c digital projector from Epson. Released at the end of 2005, it can be used to deliver presentations in various settings, and it features automatic focus, four-second startup, and fivewatt audio. The unit also comes with four input connectors, meaning teachers can hook it up to just about anything.
Barnes describes one geometry lesson in which she used the SchoolBoard to create a memory game similar to the old game show Concentration. The game required kids to move around different pictures of shapes and select the appropriate name for each one. In another lesson, Barnes used the SchoolBoard’s spotlight feature to emphasize words she wanted the students to memorize. While both lessons worked well, Barnes says one drawback of the technology is the time it takes to learn to use it.
“It does take awhile to learn and plan your lessons,” she says, noting that it took her the better part of a year to become completely comfortable with the InterWrite board. “If you’re dedicated to your job, though, that’s not really a downside.”
