Interwrite Boards
Student Johanna Kelly wanted her turn to use the Interwrite Schoolboard, so when teacher
Melissa Greatorix said she was next, Johanna jumped out of her seat with a big smile on her
face and rushed up to the front of the class. Johanna first signed each of the words listed
on the board. Fist CUT, then THINK, and then LISTEN…and using the electronic virtual marker she
dragged the words to their corresponding picture. All eyes were on the board as each image came
to life through simple animation. Interactive exercises like these are helping St. Rita students
of all ages form connections between ASL and written English. These Interwrite Schoolboards are
awesome hands-on teaching tools that completely involve the students in their education.
Thanks to the generosity of the SC Ministry Foundation, St. Rita School for the Deaf was able to
purchase 5 new Interwrite Schoolboard Systems, including 5 new digital cameras and projectors.
Once the Interwrite Board is connected wirelessly to a computer it becomes a giant full-color
monitor that can show most software applications, access the internet, and save and print assignments.
It becomes an extension of the computer, offering students a chance to stand up in front of the class
and use digital markers to write, drag, and tap their way through fun educational lessons.
For deaf and hard of hearing students, English is a second language, and writing is truly challenging
and intimidating. The Interwrite Board provides a new medium for teachers that is especially helpful
with literacy. Students want to express their ideas on the Board. They want to write and are not afraid
to write because they can visually understand both signed and written language.
After a field trip to the Cincinnati Fire Museum, one class used pictures they had taken with their
digital camera to create a Power Point presentation. The slides were projected to the Interwrite Board
and then used to create a story about the trip. It gave students a chance to recall their experiences
and come up with their own sentences describing each slide. They were able to write and correct each
sentence by touching their virtual marker to the board.
The Interwrite Boards allow teachers to do more across curriculum teaching. The picture below is
teacher Natalie Beard using the Board to teach both math and English to one of her high school classes.
“I usually scan pages from books and then project them up to the Board so I know everyone is looking at
the same thing. Students take turns highlight the challenging vocabulary that they don’t understand and
then we read through the stories together.”
Teachers have reported using the Interwrite Boards for more then 50% of their classroom instruction
and say the visual benefits of the Boards have increased classroom participation by as much as 75%.
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