How have students benefited?

In math I use the Promethean daily to go through the introduction of my lesson before splitting up into groups. We go over the Problem of the Day and homework through the math website and then I open the flipchart for the day's lesson. Almost every student who comes to work on the board as we go through our lesson knows how to interact with the board. They know how to write, how to erase, how to change colors, and how to change from writing to other tools. Often times I'll say, ok, how about we use "such and such" and as I go through the tools menu to switch to that mode, the students like to try to direct me as if I don't know where to go. I'm glad to see how comfortable they are with the technology. Even the two new students who have joined our class in the last 6 weeks walked in, took a look at it, and seemingly just knew how to use it. I think with a combination of working with the board over the last two and a half months as well as watching me work with it has made them as Promethean-savvy as I feel I have become. I think that's a plus. The more you are willing and able to fiddle around with a new technology the more comfortable you become with it and the more confident you feel about this and other technologies.

As a kid I learned so much of what I know about technology because I was able to fiddle on the computer and my dad could come down and save me whenever I messed something up. And the plus side, operating systems are so user friendly these days that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn the basics of most technologies. All it takes is the confidence to "fiddle" with it until you learn how to use it right. So, that being said, the more confidence students gain in using the Promethean, the more confidence they can transfer to other technologies. Of course, the confidence to interact with the Promethean is the biggest bonus here because now students will come up and use it, getting the most out of the lesson. This also fits in well with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Technology Goals, such as Competency Goal 3: The learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information.

I have certainly captured their attention as well. Most students are eager and falling-out-of-their-seat willing to come up to play whatever game or move whatever object or share whatever thought they have if it means touching the magic board.

I'm gathering my other thoughts still on other student benefits and will share soon.