SMART Boards Catching on in Huntington
Something special is happening in room 109 at J. Taylor Finley Middle School. It’s there that veteran science teacher Christine Nugent is using a SMART Board to create cutting edge lessons that are enriching the curriculum and taking the learning process in new directions.
Mrs. Nugent is just one of dozens of Huntington teachers and para-professionals making use of the interactive white boards. The units are in place in all eight buildings in the district and are being put to good use. The proliferation of SMART Boards has been funded by several budgets, including an assortment of departments and building principal codes. Some have been donated, including ones paid for by the Huntington Foundation.
“I have been using a SMART Board in my room for the last year,” Mrs. Nugent said. “I started playing with one about two years that was on wheels. We put it together ourselves with the instruction book and a screwdriver. I have been teaching myself how to use it over that time and have become braver as I tried out lessons and activities. The more I used it, the more I saw the advantages of it. It is very visual and interactive and the possibilities are endless as to how you can use it in the class.”
“Mrs. Nugent spends a lot of time expanding her skills regarding the use of the interactive white board in her lessons,” Finley Principal John Amato said. “She truly understands the power this technology has for her students. She also has a lot of fun doing it.”
The SMART Board on wheels was mounted in Mrs. Nugent’s room in the days leading up to the recent winter vacation. The board complements equipment the Huntington Foundation gave to seventh grade science teachers three years ago. The items include ceiling mounted projectors and laptops to run the gear. “My goal is to make my room a SMART classroom,” Mrs. Nugent said.
A lifelong Huntington resident, Mrs. Nugent graduated from Huntington High School in 1979 and obtained a BS degree in biology at Fordham University in 1983 and a MA degree in science education at New York University in 1986. She landed her first teaching position at J. Taylor Finley Junior High School in September 1986 and has been there ever since.
“Finley has been a great place to grow and change as a teacher,” Mrs. Nugent said. “There is never a dull moment.” Her husband, Paul, is a New York City firefighter. The couple has two daughters, Katie, a Finley seventh grader and Annie, a Huntington High School freshman.
“I get a kick out of seeing many of my former students who are now adults, all over Huntington,” Mrs. Nugent said. “I can't believe how fast the time has gone.” In her free time she enjoys training for triathlons, “when no one is watching,” she said/
Early on in a conversation it’s obvious that Mrs. Nugent is sold hook, line and sinker on interactive white boards. “The SMART boards are great for all sorts of things in the classroom,” she said. “I am in the process of converting most of my lessons into SMART Board notebook software. It is very visual and I can go from a PowerPoint to a video clip to a website by touching the screen. I also have created diagrams and review materials that the kids can use their fingers to move objects on the screen, like the parts of a microscope. Students can click and drag labels to pictures. So, it can be very interactive.”
David Casamento, Huntington’s director of science and instructional technology recently purchased a SMART document camera. Teachers can use it to display written materials on the SMART Board and capture those images and import them into their lessons. “This is very exciting for me as a teacher and for the students,” Mrs. Nugent said. “I am not an expert, but I am learning something new each day.”
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