By Maryann Miller
Winnsboro Today

Computers. Smart Boards. Interactive technology. School sure has come a long way from the days when some of us went with a pencil and notebook in hand and interaction meant the teacher talked while we listened. Now classrooms have more high-tech equipment than some large corporations, and students use remote devices to interact with the Smart Board.

At a recent demonstration of technology in Winnsboro elementary school classrooms, Ms. Cassie Bland’s third grade class went through a lesson that incorporated science, math, English, and social studies. The students first watched a short video about the eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s in 1980 and then answered a series if questions prepared in advance by Ms. Bland. This was all accomplished by using the Smart Board; a School Pad, which is an interactive tablet the teacher had; and remotes for each student.

As the students keyed in their responses to questions, a Reporting Wizard automatically told them if their answers were correct, and gave the teacher an accounting of how many students answered correctly. Ms. Bland said she likes that feature as it gives instant feedback without a student blurting out a wrong answer out loud. “And it also helps us focus on what we need to cover for future TAKS testing.”

For this demonstration, Ms. Brand created her own lesson plan, but Qwizdom offers curriculums for various grade levels. “We started doing this a few years ago when we realized it would be a great time-saver for teachers, “said Chris Cochran, Texas Sales Representative for Qwizdom. “It can be time consuming to come up with your own lesson plans and teachers appreciate having lesson plans prepared for them. And, of course, they can easily modify the plan to suit the needs of their particular class.”

Tammy Mclain, (L) Technology Director for WISD, was on hand to explain what the school system has done in recent years to bring the latest in technology to help students. She demonstrated how the Smart Board can be used with just a touch of a finger. “Kids love this,” she said. “They are really excited about learning when it is so interactive.”

“It’s a great benefit to them,” Ms. Brand added. “They are more focused and behavior is simply not an issue when we are using the Smart Board.”

Ms. Mclain went on to explain that they wanted to have this demonstration so people would know that the school district is not just buying technology for the classrooms because it is so cool and so much fun. “We realized that the best way to reach kids who have grown up with computers and hand-held devices is to enter that realm. If they are used to surfing the Internet and playing interactive games on computers, they are not going to respond to the older teaching model of books and lectures. It is as simple as that.”

There were between 12 and 15 guests at the demonstration, including Mark Bosold, WISD Superintendent, Larry Wright, from the Chamber of Commerce in Winnsboro, and teachers and administrators from the Como/Pickton ISD. Pictured here are Gene Daniels, a substitute teacher for WISD, whose grandson, Ashton Cantu, is in the class that demonstrated the technology, Chris McElyea, WISD Board Trustee, and Mark Bosold.

After the demonstration, the visitors were treated to a lunch served in the library, which was transformed into a winter wonderland by Patti Little, the library aide.