This school year has been different for everyone; students and teachers alike. Setting up and working google meets can be hard for some teachers, especially when they’re used to moving around their classrooms and teaching directly to students. 

“Approximately 6 years ago the administration and the school board asked for implementation of smart boards K-12,” Ms. Dohanich said.  

The administration and school board finally decided to buy the smart boards this year due to the pandemic and school closures. 

Many teachers have had troubles working the computers and google meets this year. It is hard for a person to change their ways, especially when their entire routine is changed completely. 

“The meets somehow always mess up and the teachers mess up at least five times a class. Sometimes it’s pretty funny,” junior Emily Young said. 

The smart boards are a tool for teachers to use to help with google meets especially in the hybrid schedule. 

The hybrid schedule started on Feb. 22 of this year. Students have not been in school since before Christmas, so it is quite a change of pace for students and teachers. 

“I am fine with being back in school, but I don’t think that we should do hybrid. We should either go back everyday or not at all,” sophomore Kyler Brown said. 

The smart boards were not just for working google meets better. The school also had to look at new technology because the old was outdated. 

“I think the school bought new Smart Boards because we are trying to keep up with the advancements in technology. The previous (Promethean) boards we had in our rooms became outdated when that company stopped updating their software. Our newer laptops were incompatible with the old software, and so the Promethean boards became obsolete,”  Spanish teacher Ms. Gudzan said. 

Many Freedom teachers have never used a smart board before, so the school provided some training which was provided by math teacher Amanda Bovard. She was asked to give the presentation/training because she has had her smart board for around two years. She has helped the teachers to get a better understanding of the smart boards so they would be able to effectively and comfortably use them in class.

“The district provided some training for using the SmartBoard. It definitely covered all the basics and the important things to know. I also learned a bit on my own just exploring it by myself,” Ms. Gudzan said. 

Hopefully these new smart boards will help teachers and students when on google meets or in the classrooms during their selected days. 

“I’m looking forward to continuing to develop ways to incorporate it into my teaching and make lessons more engaging,” Chemistry teacher Ms. Evans said.