Teaching teachers in Texas
"From the first day SMART software is installed, it changes the focus to the material ... and the teachers and students manipulating it."
Bill Landis, executive
director of IT, Lubbock ISD
Are you looking for an example of successful technology adoption? Look to Lubbock. The Lubbock Independent School District in Texas is a showcase not only for its use of SMART products, but for improving public education. Its top-down integration of SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards demonstrates the power of well-implemented technology to enhance student outcomes.
The single biggest reason for Lubbock's success has been professional development. Teachers build and share knowledge together as they learn more and more about getting the most from their SMART products. Bill Landis, executive director for instructional technology, helps more than 100 Lubbock teachers with SMART Board interactive whiteboards in their classrooms work at top form. According to Landis, the products are being adopted quickly and with enthusiasm. "About 95 percent of the time, the SMART Boards are being used as I walk by the classroom," says Landis. "It's rare for any technology to be used to the extent we see the SMART Boards utilized."
Building a core group of SMART-certified teacher technologists has increased the district's technology ROI. "Several of our teachers have become SMART Certified Trainers," says Landis. "We found this to be of great benefit, as it continually adds to the usability of the technology. The biggest difference we saw in terms of usability is the professional development afforded by the technology. Teachers actively work to understand all of the great tools being added to this product in order to get the most from it." These elements all function together to create a rich and evolving experience for teachers and students.
One example of the ongoing importance of SMART Notebook software is the way teachers in Lubbock share the lessons they've created. Teachers send lessons to a group of demonstration teachers. This group reviews the lessons and determines which are the most applicable district-wide. The selected lessons are posted on the district's intranet. "This method encourages teachers to share, and it encourages them to expand on the ways in which they use their SMART Boards," says Landis. "It also leads to important improvement in the delivery of lessons."
Thanks to the district's vision for long-term professional development, Lubbock administrators have facilitated the smooth integration of SMART Board interactive whiteboards into their curriculum and the enthusiastic adoption of the tool by teachers. Landis's schools and teachers demonstrate that a technology-driven, 21st-century classroom is indeed attainable.