The past couple of decades have shown that the pace at which technology has influenced teaching and learning is moving at hyper speed, and within the past two years – warp speed. Not only have this generation’s students grown up in a technology-rich environment, but they also benefit from lessons and activities that are interactive and immersive. Educators have seen the advantages of implementing educational technology, like interactive whiteboards, that offers students multiple opportunities to engage and collaborate with others.  

Stafford Public Schools (Stafford Springs, CT) is a nationally recognized school district and consistently strives to drive learning so that, according to their mission statement, their students are prepared “to assume productive, meaningful, and responsible roles in an increasingly competitive global society.” Made up of five schools with approximately 1500 students enrolled, Stafford is a 1:1 district, and this past school year, implemented a hybrid learning model – students learning from home and in-class.

Which Interactive Solution Is Right for Your School?

Interactive technologies offer an effective, engaging, and easy way to provide teacher-led instruction. Whole-class tools are designed to put students at the center of the educational environment, so they’re more engaged, more collaborative, and more motivated.

There’s a wide array of choices when it comes to whole-class technology, which you can read about in our recent blog articles: portable IWBs, interactive projectors (standard and laser), touch boards, and flat panel displays. Some of the most important considerations are what will work for your classroom configurations and for the teaching and learning styles of your educators and students.

Mobile Devices and Interactive Technology Bring Benefits to Young Students

If you ever doubted that interactive technology and mobile devices have a place in early learning, prepare to be surprised. Harmony Early Childhood Center, a preschool center serving children ages 3-5 years old in Olathe, Kansas has broken new ground in the use of educational technology.

During the winter and spring of 2014, a pilot involving two Harmony classrooms tested different types of educational technology to identify those that best met learning needs at each grade level. The pilot was so successful that the preschool center is now equipping 27 classrooms with MimioTeach™ interactive whiteboards and the MimioMobile™ application.

"Some might think that mobile technology is too complex to be a learning tool in preschool classrooms," says Dan Winkler, Mimio’s chief technology officer. "But the two teachers involved in Harmony's pilot – early childhood disabilities teachers Kim Buenger and Paige Moran – have proved that the technology can have a big impact. Both of them did amazing things with MimioMobile."