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Interactive whiteboards are one of today's cutting-edge educational tools. The technology allows teachers to create presentations with students,

Miss Thorpe says. Anything on the computer screen can appear on the board, including pictures, video clips and graphs. Students can even

answer questions using hand-held remote devices. Using a pen attached to the board, teachers and students can write, highlight, draw and erase

words, she says. It also has a calculator, protractor and ruler, and music can be played through the whiteboard.

Promethean, the company that makes the whiteboards used at Millersville Elementary, offers online lesson plans and "flip charts" for teachers

using the boards. Teachers can post their own lessons to share with other educational professionals. Even the classroom's file cabinet has been

revolutionized by the whiteboards, she says. Now everything can be saved on a thumb drive, and any worksheet can be transformed to a

whiteboard presentation. "I've seen such a growth in my children," Miss Thorpe says. "It would be ideal for every classroom to have

a whiteboard. The children are able to perform and make more of a connection with real life."

Hannah Andrews, 8, of Crownsville, Md., a student in Miss Thorpe's class, likes the calculator on the whiteboard. "It helps me learn better and

makes learning more fun," Hannah says. "It's a special treat to learn through it." Robert Chaney, 8, of Millersville, another student in Miss Thorpe's

class, likes the electric pencil that accompanies the board. "You can write math problems on it," Robert says. "It doesn't feel like an ordinary pencil."

Teachers have been hosting activities for children to raise money for the whiteboards and their accessories at Millersville Elementary, says Diana

Strohecker, principal of the school. She has a doctorate in education in human communication and its disorders. Every classroom in the school,

kindergarten through fifth grade, including special education and music classrooms, has a Promethean whiteboard, she says. Being able to evaluate

the students before test time is one of Ms. Strohecker's favorite things about the boards. By using the hand-held remote devices called Activotes,

teachers can test students at the end of each lesson. They can even see which students struggled with certain questions. "If you wait until the

Friday test or the end-of-the-unit test, it's too late," Ms. Strohecker says. "Throughout teaching and instruction, it's key to have formative

instruction." If Promethean boards can help create more educated youths, the students will be able to contribute more to society, says Mark

Elliott, president of the Americas division of Promethean in Atlanta. "It's all about getting people to want to learn and realizing how

beneficial and fun it is to learn," Mr. Elliott says. "This can transform the classroom totally. It is something here to stay.”

"Every progressive school district across the country is looking seriously at this," he says. "It is something that students love and teachers love.

There is so much you can do with its creativity." Learners today are quite different than a few years ago, says Nancy Knowlton, chief executive

officer of Smart Technologies in Calgary, Alberta. Her husband, David Martin, invented the Smart Board interactive whiteboard. The company

competes with Promethean. "They are so visually oriented, so to tap into the visual learning style is absolutely mandatory," Ms. Knowlton says.

"That is how you will engage children. It's only when you engage them that they can actually learn." Teachers' willingness to learn how to use

the new technology is a must, she says. Because children only get one chance for education, educational professionals owe it to the children to

figure out how to teach in today's language. "If teachers don't have strategies to use the whiteboards, you are spending money without it being

returned," Ms. Knowlton says. "There are bright and capable children today that are not engaged and not reaching their potential because of

their learning styles and interests."

Interactive whiteboards are the blackboards of the 21st century, says Renee Henderson, instructional technology specialist in the information

technology office at Prince George's County Public Schools. The school district has had Smart Boards for at least five years, she says. It also uses

Promethean boards throughout its schools. Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights and J. Frank Dent Elementary School in Fort Washington

are technology showcase schools, where every classroom has a whiteboard, she says. "Children are used to things being active, interactive,

visual and responsive," Ms. Henderson says. "It really changes the environment of a classroom from the teacher being the center and focus

to students participating more actively in their instruction."