No more pencils, no more chalkboards New technology replaces familiar teaching aid BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer staff Seventh-grade teacher Patrick Rinella scrolls through one of the many lesson plans that can be displayed on the new Smart Board that was introduced into his classroom this school year at Thompson Middle School in Middletown. MIDDLETOWN - Goodbye, loud screeching chalk sounds and white dust. Hello, Smart Boards. Thompson Middle School teacher Pat Rinella went to the board at the front of his classroom last week and moved fractions around with his fingertips. This was no ordinary chalkboard common to classrooms throughout schools around the world; this was the future of classroom educational technology. The Smart Board interactive whiteboard. The Smart Board is basically a projector screen hooked up to a computer that enables the teacher to write on the screen with specific markers, move objects on the screen like a computer mouse and play movies. Rinella loaded a program on the screen showing a pie chart. By using his finger he moved the lines inside the pie chart making various fractions inside the large circle. He showed students how one-third of the pie can be made bigger which in turn makes the other parts of the pie smaller. "It's such a cool technology," Rinella said. "I've found that the students are much more interested and pay a lot more attention to this screen." A total of six Smart Boards are being used at Thompson, and others have been distributed to the other schools in the district. Until this year, they have been used in the district offices and then were approved for use in the schools. Rinella said he taught himself how to use the Smart Board in his classroom and had a lot of fun doing so. "Basically there is a manual on how to use it, but its more about just playing around with it," Rinella said. "There are so many things I can do with this that I couldn't do before." One thing Rinella did was download the textbooks for his classes onto his computer so that they show up on the Smart Board screen. He can go along page by page with the students and even turn the pages with them by using his fingers on the screen. Board of Education member Kevin Ryan who is in charge of the technology committee in Middletown was equally impressed with what the Smart Boards can do. "I am very excited about this technology," Ryan said. "I think it can do some great things." The "touch screen" technology that the Smart Board uses enables the teacher to not only move objects around on the screen but it also can minimize a screen and click on Web sites. It comes with four different color markers that are used to write on the screen. Instead of using an eraser, all the teacher has to do is click on a button on the screen and it clears. "I use the chalkboard sometimes, but I don't miss it," Rinella said. "I'd rather use this any day." The chalk and eraser industry should be on notice. This technology may put them out of business.