[LM_NET] Smart Boards, are they worth the price?

[Alisa Humphrey <humphrey@DIRECWAY.COM>]

I have just realized that this is the perfect group to discuss Smart 
Boards.  I have been considering getting one, but I am not sure.  They 
seem expensive, but there is a lot you can do with them.  Our school 
could afford to buy one, but when I looked at how much it would cost to 
train on them, it seems out of reach.  And I ask myself, if the training 
is so expensive, what happens when the people who trained move out of 
our school?  Do we have to do it again?  Are they so hard to use that 
the training is necessary?  I do not want to buy one and have it become 
a way to use the internet, we have projectors already.  Are they that 
much better than a standard setup?  I have also heard that they can be 
hard to move, and since we can't get one for everyone, I am ready to 
give up on it. 

Has anyone used one in a library setting where people who are not 
"trained" use them with success, and for more than just a way to use the 
internet?  Is it worth the trouble?

Alisa Humphrey
Media Specialist
Ridgeview Junior High School
Pickerington, Ohio  43147
alisa_humphrey@fc.pickerington.k12.oh.us

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------