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Desktop Computers in Schools
As far back as I can remember, they may have been included in schools prior to 2004. However, I didn't start school until 2004 and this is based on perspective. By this time, computer labs were established areas in schools, mainly in libraries -
First Mainstream Touchscreen Boards
By time I arrived in middle school, there was at least 1 or 2 classrooms with a touchscreen board that could have projected images that were synchronized to the computer. These used the double screen touch screens that required force for the signal to be sent in contrast to the more efficient electron touch screens where skin contact becomes the electrical conductor sending signals. This is when activities and lectures began to get more technologically interactive and interesting. -
ELMO
With further efficiencies from computers, the translucent sheets and old-school projectors were rendered obsolete. Thus, the ELMO camera was developed with the ability to connect straight to a computer/project and display images digitally and being able to read materials more feasibly. They started to gain popularity in 2010 and almost every classroom, as far as I know, had one by 2016. -
2009
By 2009, to ease scheduling conflicts with the limited amount of computer labs at schools, schools in West Virginia provided large numbers of Lenovo Thinkpads in carts of 30 each that doubled as a charging station. They could be signed out by a teacher and passed out to students, eliminating time lost to walk to the computer lab and providing more time learning. -
SMART Boards Take Off
By time 2011 rolled around, SMART boards rendered the double screen touch screen boards out of fashion as these touch screen boards relayed information easier and quicker. Teachers began having these boards installed in their classroom and by 2013 almost every classroom had one. It was an added bonus for students in schools when they got to write with different colored pens -
Smart TV's
Between 2011-2015, SMART boards showed their dominance as the leading technological marvel in classrooms with their capabilities. However, with further advancements in portable computer technology like cell phones and tablets, a successor was eventually coronated. Thus, once late 2015 came in, the first Smart TV's came in. These TV's were also a touch-screen computer of sorts. It was, in one sense, an iPad but 10 times larger. The number of smart TV's in classrooms increased in the later 's -
iPad Distribution
At the height of COVID-19, boards of education needed to provide portable computer technology that had opportunities to gain access to necessary education resources to complete assignments in the case students becoming quarantined or out of school during the hybrid schedule remote learning days. This also paved way for mobile hotspots provided by boards of education and local businesses to help less fortunate families.
