The Foundation for MERS Supports Technology Upgrade
The Foundation for MERS awarded a grant for $30,848 to the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. The funds awarded will enable the district to purchase eight, 70” Titanium Promethean Boards (including installation and integrated chrome boxes).
This grant is essential to help sustain the district’s desire to promote 21st century learning skills and maintaining a 21st century learning environment. Approval of this grant helps the district to move forward in replacing broken or outdated technology despite deep cuts in State funding.
“Effectiveness of this grant can be measured by the intellectual engagement of our students and through the quality of the instruction being implemented in the classroom” stated Dr. Nicole Santora, Superintendent of MERS K-8 School District. “Furthermore, our goal is to always ensure that the appropriate tools and resources are available to support our teachers and learners.”
Promethean Boards have enhanced features not available on the current SMARTBoards. For example, Promethean Boards connect directly to a teacher's Google Drive and students’ Chrome Books; these tools will not only enhance our digital learning environment, but they will help make processes for connecting easier and more accessible for staff. According to the Promethean's website and a recent study they conducted, 93% of educators believe that technology helps to improve pupils' research skills, and 84% of educators believe that technology helps to improve pupils' technical literacy (The State of Technology in Education Report 2016).
“Promethean Boards are more than just a glorified white board, it is a tool that promotes collaboration, research and hands-on learning.” added Jodi Pepchinski, Assistant Superintendent of MERS K-8 School District.
Additionally, 82% of teachers believe that educational technology accelerates learning in their classrooms: however, high workloads for over half of these same teachers (57%) have led to underutilization of the very same tools that streamline processes and lesson prep time. sPromethean Boards help to resolve this by providing an interactive display that powers up in seconds, provides an intuitive use-interface, and utilizes educational and productivity-based applications from the Google Play Store.
