Build Your Own Board

Brightboards Offer a Cost-Effective Alternative to Interactive

Whiteboards

By Keith Vallis and Peter

Williamson

2  Learning & Leading with Technology  |  August 2009

I
nteractive whiteboards are all the lets and keyboards will work simulta- form, the pen tablets enable users to
rage in classrooms across the world neously, so students working alone or save and transmit their handwritten
these days, and for good reason. in groups—with one student “driving” notes.
Like most technology, they hold the pen tablet while another types on Another brightboard bonus is that
students’ attention much better than the keyboard—can interact with the the projection area at the front of the
a traditional lecture-and-blackboard software together. Teachers can build room can be as large as the wall and
lesson ever could. They also solve the and guide lessons from the back of projector will allow. You don’t need
problem of having only one classroom even the largest classroom or from the to buy a display screen; just paint the
computer for 30 students by project- midst of group activities, and students wall white. Brightboards will also
ing the screen at the front of the room, can contribute to and construct their work in large school halls or theatres
and they make it easy and fun for both learning individually or in groups with the same interactivity, and even
teachers and students to interact with without having to walk to the front of the people at the back will be able
educational software. the room, where they’re forced to be to see clearly. If the school delivers
Whiteboards have become so popu- the centre of attention in the glare of a video-on-demand via the computer
lar that students have begun to expect bright projector. network, students can also view in-
them in every classroom, and some The computer can use the same soft- structional video on a big screen.
parents are measuring the value of ware a whiteboard would use, or you Of course, in these budget-con-
schools as centres of technology excel- can use any high-quality, tried-and- scious times, perhaps the biggest
lence by the number of boards they trusted interactive classroom applica- benefit of a brightboard is the cost. If
own. In some countries, departments tion that takes advantage of the multi- your school already has projectors and
of education have even mandated that media and calculating power of your computers—which may be required
all schools have them. And teachers computer. Many software programs to operate whiteboards, anyway—in
without whiteboards are starting to that have been around for a long time, each classroom, your only hardware
feel as if they are on the cyberhighway like Inspiration, already have interac- expense is the pen tablet, and you can
off-ramp. tivity built in. Anything you can pull buy 10 wireless pen tablets for the
But are interactive whiteboards the up on your computer, including Web price of one $3,000 whiteboard. Be-
best choice for every classroom? 2.0 programs like Google Earth and cause of the smaller size of the compo-
Google Sketchup, can be projected on nents, brightboards are also more por-
How to Make a Brightboard a wall using the brightboard setup. table than whiteboards, allowing you
Many teachers believe the only way Other good programs to use include to share pen tablets among classrooms
to project the contents of a computer Geometer’s Sketchpad, any CAD pro- to save even more money.
is onto an interactive whiteboard, gram, the Pintar VirtuaLab series, and
but this is not true. Any computer Poly (a free 3D geometric shape ma- What’s Best for You?
can connect to a projector, and any nipulation tool). Whiteboards are still more appropri-
software can be projected onto a wall. Students can use Geometer’s Sketch- ate than brightboards in some cases.
Hook up a Bluetooth-enabled pen pad, for example, to stretch, flip, and For instance, young children and
tablet and a wireless keyboard, and turn shapes while the computer calcu- pre-adolescents may be better suited
you have an interactive whiteboard—a lates and displays the changes in angle to the whiteboard model. Classrooms
setup with all the functionality of a sizes as a result of the user’s input in for these age groups are typically co-
whiteboard, at a fraction of the cost. real time. The main difference be- sier, and the children often sit on the
To use a brightboard, the teacher tween a brightboard and a whiteboard floor or clustered closely around the
can bring his or her laptop to class is that those same Geometer’s Sketch- whiteboard. The tactile nature of the
and attach it to a docking station that pad manipulations can be driven board—so long as the children can
is permanently connected to power, from anywhere in the room, with a reach to the top of it—the colour and
to the school network and Internet, wireless mouse or pen tablet passed movement, and the ability to walk and
to a projector and amplifier, and to quickly from one user to another. You talk while they click and drag present
one or more wireless pen tablets and don’t need to be tied to the board at engaging opportunities for teachers of
keyboards. The teacher can control the front of the room. And just as a young children.
the laptop from anywhere in the room whiteboard will remember what is In contrast, adolescents are more
with the pen tablet and enter data written on it, providing fresh pages on comfortable when they are all facing
with the keyboard. Multiple pen tab- demand and allowing the notes to be the screen rather than being asked to
made available to students in digital

August 2009  |  Learning & Leading with Technology  3

“star” at the front of the room before instead of sending teachers to inter- You can buy 10 wireless pen
peers. This configuration also allows active whiteboard conferences, send tablets for the price of one $3,000
the teacher to be out among the class- them to conferences about how to whiteboard.
room participants rather than holding teach English, history, or geography,
court at the front of the room like a or about how to use other technology Much of the interactivity of
“sage on a stage” while staring into a in innovative ways to engage learners whiteboards is in the software and
bright projector and jumping around and extend learning. the way the teacher uses it.
shadows so the screen is visible to all.
A powerful dynamic emerges in class- Resources
rooms when the teacher’s control is [DO YOU HAVE ANY WEBSITES THAT
appropriately shared with students. EXPLAIN OR TALK ABOUT BRIGHT-
BOARDS?]
There is a place for both models,
Geometer’s Sketchpad: [Link].
but teachers and administrators must com
consider many factors when making Google Earth: [Link]
decisions about these tools. [CAN Google Sketchup: [Link]
YOU EXPAND ON THE FACTORS Pintar VirutaLab series: [Link]
[Link]
TO CONSIDER? ARE THERE ANY
Poly: [Link]/poly
OTHER BESIDES WHAT HAS AL-
READY BEEN MENTIONED?] Keith Vallis works with teach-
One thing that should not influ- ers and students to integrate
ence the decision is bells and whistles. technology into classrooms at
Much of the interactivity of white- Barker College, an indepen-
boards is in the software and the way dent 3–12 school in Sydney,
Australia. He has taught K–12
the teacher uses it. The best software in public and private schools
demonstrated on whiteboards was in Australia and internationally.
around long before the boards them-
selves were, and its effectiveness has Peter Williamson has spent a
always come down to teacher ability considerable number of years
exploring the blind alleys and
rather than whether it’s displayed on a
cul-de-sacs of computers in
board, run on 30 computers, or pro- education. He is currently the
jected onto the side of a barn. architect, driving force, and
Whether a school decides to go the dogsbody for implementing
whiteboard route or to try the bright- technology at one of Sydney’s leading indepen-
dent schools.
board approach, it must provide com-
plete training and technical support,
and the technology needs to be fully
accessible. Don’t think you can blow
the budget on one interactive white-
Pullquotes:
board, set it up in a room, and bring
every class to it for lessons. If a teacher
Teachers can build and guide
is going to use it regularly, it needs
lessons from the back of even
to be at his or her fingertips. When
the largest classroom or from
money is tight, perhaps it is better
the midst of group activities,
to set up more affordable interactive
and students can contribute
brightboards in every classroom than
to and construct their learning
to spring for fewer whiteboards.
individually or in groups without
Need more ideas for what to spend
having to walk to the front of the
the leftover funds on? How about
room, where they’re forced to be
good software, computers, and pro-
the centre of attention in the glare
jector and amplifier systems? And
of a bright projector.

4  Learning & Leading with Technology  |  August 2009