Promethean Board Initiative
Our teachers, through professional development opportunities, research, school visits, and actual trial demonstrations have become convinced that adding Active Board technology into all Eaton classrooms will help us engage our students and motivate them to learn content that can be quite difficult. We have infused technology into our teaching, but we continue to lag behind our students who are true “digital natives.” Learners today are accustomed to being entertained through interactive games, television, DVD videos, iPods, and computers. If we are to compete for their attention and add richness to the curriculum, we must embrace how they learn best. Perhaps you had the opportunity on Parent Conference night to witness a lesson on the Promethean Active Boards in Rooms 301 and 108. If you did, I’m sure you discovered what we have – this tool engages the learner and makes even the most unexciting curriculum content come to life. Thanks to your generosity through Rocket Romp, we have committed to buy seven Promethean Active Boards for Eaton classrooms. While this is exciting, that means 32 classrooms will have to wait to utilize this technology. Several staff members are busy writing technology grants, but the results are uncertain, and the wait is long. We have developed a four year plan to make our dream a reality, but we also know many of our students will be “across the road” at North Middle School by the time we have full implementation. This leads us to make an unusual request. As we approach the end of the year, we know individuals and businesses are looking ahead to tax time. Many find they lack the deductions to reduce this tax burden. If this is the case for you, we are seeking business and individual sponsors to outfit classrooms with the Promethean active boards. A donation to the school would result in a sponsorship plaque being placed outside the classroom door acknowledging the generous gift. In addition, we will write a letter certifying this donation for tax deduction purposes. We plan to make this sponsorship a year round event. While we will not sell items or conduct a true fundraiser, we will apply all school donations to this technology initiative. In cases where an entire class works together to obtain an active board, we will acknowledge this with a plaque stating the class of 2007-2008 made the donation. Through the Loudon County bid process, we can purchase a 78” Promethean Active Board, 25 active vote “clickers”, a LCD projector, unlimited teacher training, installation and 5 yr. warranty for right at $4,000/classroom. We realize this is expensive, and if we were not absolutely convinced of the merits of this tool, we would not be asking. If you have questions, need more information, or would like to see a demonstration, please contact the school at 986-2420. As always we appreciate the support you give us to help our Eaton Rockets Soar!
26 comments November 9th, 2007
