Recently this week, North upgraded from projectors to portable touch boards, and almost every teacher is upgrading. Here are a few teachers who gave a response and their opinion on the new boards.

“So far, I’ve heard from other teachers they were having technical difficulties with the new boards. The only problem I have personally is that my iPad has been getting hotter, which it hasn’t ever done. Although I wasn’t informed when the new boards were coming in, I came in early in the morning to set it up myself since they had uninstalled the whiteboard on the wall already and I had to teach the next day. However, it is a nice upgrade, and hopefully there won’t much technical difficulties in the future,” math teacher Alma Rivas said.

As to why the school received the new boards, USD 259 Chief Information Officer Rob Dickson said, “The current smart boards were aging at an amount that they couldn’t support newer technologies. The interactive flat boards have a 20+ year lifespan. The total maintenance cost for a projector was $317,013 annually, which plays a role in why we upgraded.”

“The new boards allow for 9 users to wirelessly display at the same time- allowing students to show work if needed, as well it is touch-screen which allows 10 different inputs at one time. There isn’t the necessity of external speakers with these new boards based on their media experience.”

“We had teachers come in and measure their experience with multiple solutions. After measuring that feedback, we examined the cost, availability, installation, etc., and moved forward with the solution which are the new boards you now see and have been installed in North High,” added Dickson.

Students and teachers are still adjusting to the new technology, but overall, the goal remains the same; educating students using 21st century technolgy.