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Pleasant Valley Elementary School - A SMART School

(above) Mrs. Katie Ameigh, 3rd grade teacher, guides a student in a classification activity she developed using the powerful SMARTBoard software that comes with each board. In this lesson, students select animals then move them to their proper categories - carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore.

(above) Mrs. Patty Burchill's 1st grade students enjoy using the SMARTBoard in an interactive Math lesson as they move then add objects on the screen.

SMARTBoards are impacting the teaching and learning process throughout Rockingham County schools. So effective and widespread is the use of these electronic whiteboards at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, the SMART company awarded the school a $30,000 grant to supply classrooms with more SMART products.

When the SMART company came to Rockingham County looking for a showcase school, it only had to look as far as PVES. At the time, this school had more SMARTBoards than any other building in the division, thanks to the efforts of many of the teachers there who earned NETS*T certification (National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers) and participated in grant-funded training sessions in order to earn this technology.

PVES was invited to submit an application to become a SMART Showcase School. Shortly after its acceptance into the program, SMART products began arriving at the school's doorstep: 3 large SMARTBoard 680 models, 1 SMARTBoard 600i (with an integrated "short throw" projector), and 2 sets of Senteo Interactive Response Systems. A generous bundle of software was also included in this $30,000 award as well as a number of free training opportunities for staff members.

"This technology has taken classrooms to a whole new level. You simply can't compare teaching in SMARTBoard classrooms to teaching in those without this advantage," describes Mrs. Paula Frazier, Principal at Pleasant Valley Elementary, concerning the impact of electronic whiteboards at her school. Currently, all but two PVES classrooms in grades 1-5 have SMARTBoards. Not so coincidentally, Mrs. Frazier has two more on order.

Interactive whiteboards appeal to students of all ages and address a variety of learning styles. The computer's screen image is projected onto the whiteboard, making it a huge, interactive touch screen. Students participate actively in lessons by manipulating objects or using its electronic tools to write on the board.

At any point throughout the day, a passing glance into classrooms at PVES will reveal students and teachers engaged in a wide variety of innovative, smart activities!

 

(above) Mrs. Karen Komara uses the 600i series SMARTBoard housed in one of the school's computer labs to help review a Math concept with her 5th graders. The device above the board is the system's integrated projector.