SULPHUR SPRINGS (KYTX) - Toss out the pencils and notebooks - classrooms in Sulphur Springs ISD are going high tech. As CBS 19's Jennifer Heathcock reports, teachers are trading in chalkboards for new interactive ways to increase student achievement.
This may look like a normal projector, but it's actually an interactive tool for students in Jamie Barcus' fifth grade science class.
"I love that it's bright, it's big, it's a giant computer screen we can manipulate and use and the kids love it. They're able to make it their own."
"You can type and use tools and everything."
Students like Emily Johnson have the chance to drag, drop, and respond to material on the Promethean board.
"You can do more and instead of write on paper, do it on the board and more people can do it. And you think better."
Students say it's fun to use the system, and teachers say if you can incorporate games into the curriculum, like learning symmetry, you're pulling double duty with their education.
While the students answer multiple choice questions at their desk, feedback and interaction studies show they can increase overall student achievement by 20%. "If you're really bored and not having fun, how will you learn? If you're having fun, you learn a lot more."
Having fun, and keeping students engaged.
Sulphur Springs ISD has around 100 Promethean boards in schools across the district. The systems cost about $3,000 each, and were paid for by money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
