Forsyth Country Day to Implement SMART Board Technology Program
LEWISVILLE, N.C. – October 6, 2006 –Forsyth Country Day School is about to get smarter. This year, FCDS will introduce SMART Board technology in its Lower School as the first phase of its SMART Board implementation plan.
“This program will push all of us to rethink our technology needs and uses for years to come – the timing could not be better,” Provost and Middle School Director Chuck Jones said. “We investigated SMART Boards three or four years ago, but at the time, we felt that the promise exceeded the performance. This spring, we sent three teachers to see the updated technology in action, and I am quite sure that SMART Boards will provide astounding utility for us as we move further into the new century.”
SMART Boards are interactive whiteboards that allow the user to present information combining two methodologies. Teachers can use SMART Boards much as they would a traditional blackboard or whiteboard by simply writing on its surface. In addition, SMART Boards function like giant touch-screen computers that give teachers and students a dynamic tool for presentation and collaboration by integrating the Internet, video, and other digital resources into daily lessons.
In addition to an initial gift from the Sides family, FCDS hopes to raise money to cover the cost of providing SMART Boards to every classroom in the school.
The first phase of SMART Board implementation will begin in Lower School. Eventually, 23 classrooms of grades one through four will be outfitted with the interactive whiteboards.
Going forward, implementation will move into the Middle School with the installation of at least six SMART Boards. The third phase would expand SMART Board technology into every classroom in the Middle and Upper Schools.
“The implementation of SMART Board technology will enrich the classroom experience and provide significant learning opportunities for our students, which is consistent with our mission as a school,” said Headmaster Henry M. Battle, Jr. “Kathy and Rod Sides’s foresight will help make FCDS a technological leader among its peer schools, and we’re profoundly grateful to them for starting this initiative.”
Kathy and Rod Sides, both 1985 alumni of FCDS, have three children in the Lower School: Matthew, a second grader; Merideth, a first grader; and Eli, who is in Junior Pre-Kindergarten.
“Implementation of SMART Boards will open up a host of new learning opportunities for our students,” Rod Sides said. “Given the interactive nature of this technology, students will be able to work with the technology in a "hands-on" manner, thus better equipping them for the future.”
For more information, please contact:
Michael Seymour, Director of |
Kim Butler, Director of Community Relations and Special Events |
Forsyth Country Day School |
Forsyth Country Day School |
5501 Shallowford Road |
5501 Shallowford Road |
Lewisville, NC 27023 |
Lewisville, NC 27023 |
336.945.3151 ext. 393 |
336.945.3151 ext. 335 |
michaelseymour@fcds.org |
kimbutler@fcds.org |