SMART Boards are interactive whiteboards that allow teachers opportunities to increase their students’ learning in an interactive manner. The SMART Board was developed in 1991 by SMART Technologies. This piece of technology would greatly benefit students who are hard of hearing in any classroom; however due to the price of the product, it would be used best in the self-contained classroom for students with hearing loss. 

There are numerous ways the SMART Board could be used to benefit deaf and hard of hearing students. First, the SMART Board is visual. Teachers can download notes, pictures, movies, etc. onto their computer and show it on the SMART Board. Movies can be made of the students signing, or they could even watch others sign via YouTube. Secondly, teachers and students can actually write on the board. Special pens can be used to write on the board; students can practice writing sentences, forming letters, or develop a story. Since this technology is interactive, students and teachers can work together to edit work. Also, the SMART Board can be used when developing language experience stories. Overall, the possibilities of utilizing a SMART Board within a resource room for deaf and hard of hearing students are endless!

 

SMART Technologies retrieved from http://www2.smarttech.com June 15, 2008.

 

Pictures retrieved from http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/

 

Lauren Strittmatter