Hillsboro Banner

By NEIL O. NELSON

A year ago math and science classroom ActivBoards were education tools Hillsboro teachers heard talked about.

Far from the rage in education, the interactive whiteboards were surfacing in classrooms across the state.

But not in Hillsboro.

Or, in many schools in the neighborhood, for that matter.

Still, the more Hillsboro teachers heard of ActivBoards, they more they were convinced the latest technology introduced to improve learning was worth exploring.

Elementary principal Paula Pederson, who joined the Hillsboro School system this fall, needed little convincing; she, too had heard of the positive impact the interactive tool was having on students across the state. Pederson, school superintendent at Northwood last year, urged Hillsboro superintendent Mike Bitz to consider adding ActivBoards in the classrooms here.

Meanwhile, Bits and school board members Don Hanson, Jr. and Stacey Riemer visited the Fisher, Minn. school, where ActivBoards were in the classroom.

Bitz, Hanson and Riemer agreed: “We have to get these in our school.”

Hillsboro started the school year last fall with two ActivBoards at the high school.

Suddenly, they were the rage in Dan Hoornaert and Susan Duffy’s classrooms.

Fast-forward to March 2008.

In a matter of days, nine more new interactive whiteboards will be a part of classrooms in Grades 3-12.

Used primarily for math classes, the ActivBoards are being paid for by a $20,000 Classroom Transformation Grant from the North Dakota Educational Technology Council (ND ETC).

In addition to the nine ActivBoards, graphic computer tablets and personal response systems will be purchased to be shared in the math classrooms.

The applications for these technology resources include assessing web-based resources, demonstrating software, presenting student work to others, manipulating visual math elements, saving notes written on the board for future use, and quickly revising lesson materials to respond to students’ needs.

Twenty-two schools across North Dakota received Classroom Transformation Grants from the state Educational Technology Council totaling $396,464.23. The grant monies were allocated to the NDETC by the North Dakota Legislature to provide funding for improving student achievement through the use of technology.

The North Dakota Educational Technology Council is the state board responsible for coordinating educational technology initiatives for elementary and secondary education.