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Award-winning math teacher activates learning with Walk-and-Talk™ interactive whiteboard
Cindy Hasselbring, a National Board Certified math teacher at Milan High School, is also a winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. She received the national award because of her innovative teaching techniques. Integrating her lessons with instructional technology, Hasselbring uses the PolyVision Walk-and-Talk interactive whiteboard daily.
“The technology I use in class is so powerful,” Hasselbring said. “It gives my kids so many more opportunities than they ever could have had before.
”Hasselbring, who spent her first 10 years in the classroom wielding chalk, said the transition to interactive whiteboard technology has yielded significant benefits for her students.
Classroom of the future
Twenty years ago, classroom computers, televisions, calculators and overhead projectors were considered progressive teaching tools. Today at Milan High School, PolyVision interactive whiteboards are the progressive tools of choice, popular with both teachers and students. PolyVision interactive whiteboards have made a dramatic impact on the way teachers engage and inspire their students. From streaming video with sound effects to homework problem-solving with the touch of a button, these boards are a multimedia classroom tool that teachers and students enjoy using.
New tools for new schools
When taxpayers voted to build a new high school, William Matley, was charged with designing the school and making it the premier high tech school in the area. As executive director of the district and former high school teacher and principal, Matley had a solid understanding of what makes a good teacher and how children learn. He realized that teachers need creative learning environments where students can be more actively engaged in the learning process.
Along with superintendent Dennis McComb, also a former principal, Matley envisioned technology that not only excited teachers, but also captured students’ attention beyond the traditional lesson and whiteboard method. Matley and McComb were immediately impressed with PolyVision interactive whiteboards and the technology’s ability to assimilate into the classroom. They also appreciated the ease and flexibility of integrating the boards into the curriculum.
After researching and reviewing technology contractors and designing the network, Matley devised an easy, economical way to mount a projector in every classroom. Now every classroom in the school district is equipped with his solution and includes:
- wall-mounted PolyVision interactive whiteboard
- ceiling-mounted LCD projector and amplified ceiling-mounted speakers
- computer with flat screen monitor
- DVD/VCR player
Not just an “add-on”
Although Milan may appear to be your average school district, it is anything but average when it comes to technology in the classroom. The technology is not just an “add on” with a few computers in the back of the classroom, or on a cart to be signed out by the teacher and used once in a while. Every classroom in the K-12 school district is fully equipped with technology. Each day, more than 2,200 students and 140 teachers interact with a PolyVision interactive whiteboard from a visual, auditory or tactile perspective.
Special software for different subjects
The PolyVision interactive whiteboard technology allows teachers to instruct in innovative ways. For example:
- In algebra, the board becomes a calculator
- In history, it is an encyclopedia
- In Spanish class, the board is a two-way communicator
- In current events, it is a news source that links to national newspapers
With PolyVision interactive whiteboards in their classrooms, Milan’s teachers now have the ability to write, save, print, stream cable television, access the Internet, project from a DVD/VCR, display PowerPoint presentations and more.
The technology also gives parents instant access to the entire lesson presented during each class, which is particularly important when a student is absent or has special needs. A key element in the technology solution is RM Easiteach® software, developed specifically for interactive, whole-class teaching. With dedicated toolbars for different subjects, it’s easy for Milan’s teachers to create virtually unlimited interactive lesson plans.
According to teachers, the interactive whiteboard technology significantly improves students’ comprehension of the material,and decreases teachers’ time involved with paperwork and planning. As an integral part of the algebra and calculus program, the interactive whiteboard is used daily by teacher Steve Porter.
“When I’m teaching, I put everything on the interactive whiteboard, ”he said. “At the end of the hour, I can save my notes into a web folder so students (and parents) can access it later, either from the computer lab or home.”
PolyVision interactive whiteboards allow teachers to capture, annotate and highlight their work and distribute it in different ways than they could with a regular dry-erase whiteboard. Captured information can be printed, e-mailed, or uploaded to the Internet. Additionally, teachers can emphasize critical parts of the lesson through its unique visual and auditory effects.
Math teacher Cindy Hasselbring uses content tools from RM Easiteach software to move through lessons more quickly. “It’s so much better than Microsoft PowerPoint for teachers,” she said. “For math, it has graph paper, number lines, protractor, timer, math symbols, exponents. It’s so much faster, plus you can prepare your notes ahead of time, and you can save them for reference.”
Speeds teaching, enhances learning
Before using the technology, math department head Steve Porter recalls spending up to four days in class explaining the different formulas of a parabola. Now, with the interactive whiteboard and a graphing calculator, he can explain it in ten minutes. “It’s more effective because it’s more accurate and precise, and the kids can participate too. I’m doing more than educating the students. I can cover more material; it’s more encompassing and I can saturate a unit much better.”
Additionally, Porter uses the technology to quickly review work without having to rewrite the entire problem and answer, which can be extremely time-consuming, particularly in calculus. “Kids will always ask me about a problem I explained 20 minutes earlier. If it was on a chalkboard, it’s gone. And I would have wasted 15 minutes of class time looking up the problem and rewriting or graphing the answer. Now, I just arrow back and find it, and we can move on. It’s an incredibly useful tool.”
Adds excitement and freshness
Many veteran teachers who were once preparing for retirement are now teaching at higher levels of effectiveness, according to Matley. Sue Haas, who has taught Spanish at Milan for 26 years, agreed. “When you’ve been teaching as long as I have, things tend to get a little stale. With so much media coming at kids, teachers need tools that add a lot of excitement and freshness, and that’s what PolyVision’s interactive whiteboard does.”
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