Whiteboards and Blackboards have always been the most prominent forms of communication within the classroom. From teaching students simple grammar to explaining complex mathematical equations, the boards make up an important part of every teacher’s classroom. These iconic resources haven’t had many technological advances over the last 20-30 years, that is up until now. With the rapid growth of new technologies, many companies have been implementing ways of adding interactivity to the once stale boards.

Using a combination of specially designed screens and projectors, teacher’s and students can now dynamically change the content on a board. Teachers and students can explore an active website, give presentations, take virtual field trips and play games. You simply touch the surface to select menus and icons. You can also use specially designed pens or your fingers to draw or write. No more dusty rooms or ink smudged whiteboards!

One company at the forefront of these advances is SMART technologies. They offer many interactive boards ranging in size and appearance. Their most popular board is the 600i model and sells for about $6000 - $6500. A virtual demo of the board and it’s components can be found here. The board comes with its own speakers, wall-mount bracket and all the software needed to create interactive activities.