The small tablets that students in Kyla Grose’s third grade class at W.F. Morrison Elementary School write on wouldn’t look completely out of place in a historic school house, but though they look a lot like small black chalkboards, they are actually electronic.
The devices are branded as “Boogie Boards,” and work similarly to a chalk or dry erase board in principal, but with a few advantages.
Students write on the boards with a stylus, and when they want to start over, the push of a button erases the screen, Grose said.
But aside from the power for the rechargeable devices, nothing is used up.
The advantage is both economical for parents and ecological as well, Grose said.
“They can be reused every single year and it cuts the cost of supplies that the parents have to buy at the beginning of the school year,” Grose said. “Some of these families can’t afford to be buying and replenishing markers all year.”
Additionally, unlike dry erase or chalk, a stray elbow or arm won’t swipe away everything a student wrote down.
It also helps with other consumables, she said. During class, the students will receive prompts for which they need to cite examples from something they read.
Before writing their response down on paper, students would usually go through and highlight text that backs up their response, or jot ideas down on paper, she said. With the Boogie boards, they can get all their ideas down before committing them to paper.
Grose said she first went out and bought four of the devices for her class after reading about them on another teacher’s blog. But she was only able to afford an additional 22 for the whole class because of a $500 grant from Shopko.
Now, with the four she bought and the 22 she bought with the grant money, every student is able to take advantage of the devices.
“We’re just really appreciative that Shopko was able to give us this grant,” she said.