CSI unveils new high-tech chalkboard
The Smartboard was funded by a $25,000 grant from the Richmond County Savings Foundation

Staten Island Advance
Saturday, February 7, 2004

Math education students at the College of Staten Island won't have to fight over who has to clean the chalkboard, thanks to a $25,000 grant from Richmond County Savings Foundation for a high-tech interactive teaching aid -- the Smartboard.

"This is one of the things that makes fund-raising fun," said Richard Truitt, CSI vice president for college advancement. "This will give aspiring teachers the skill to make them more effective in the classroom."

The technology was unveiled yesterday in the math education department at the Willowbrook campus before CSI and foundation officials. The Smartboard, projector and laptop computers connected to the system will be used to train undergraduate and graduate students to teach math to students in prekindergarten through high school.

The board, mounted on the wall, is sensitive to touch. A computer screen is projected onto the surface, and educators can interact with the displayed information. The technology provides for teleconferencing, as well as archiving video presentations, to let students watch lessons while they are conducted.

"We can't take a whole class into a third-grade classroom for them to observe teaching methods," said Eileen Donoghue, associate professor of mathematics education. "This way, all the students can watch the same class, and talk about strategies and the responses of the children."

Walter Palmer, technical assistant for the education department, demonstrated the technology for those present by navigating the Internet with simple touches to the screen.

"It helps keep everyone on the same page," he said. "Teachers can physically show the students what to do, so that the students can better follow the lesson."

Cesar Claro, executive director of the Richmond County Savings Foundation, said his organization considers it very important to nurture education and technology for future generations.

"Technology, education and children are very important to the foundation," he said. "This grant captures all three of those factors."

According to the foundation and college officials, the science department may look forward to another grant, which will allow the department to be outfitted with similar technology.

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