We have a smartboard at our middle school and it is great! We come up with lessons on different subjects (ex: fitness, volleyball, flexibility..etc.) students get notes and essentially we put the notes on the smartboard (with pictures and video) so that it is more interesting that reading the notes to them. We are in the process of getting a portable smartboard for our gym. We currently have one for our library and they have wheels to roll around and the projector is attached to the board (they are great!). We plan to store our board in the gym and build some type of case around it so that it is protected from being hit with equipment.

A few years ago a colleague of mine used a SmartBoard as part of a lesson that he was teaching on Throwing and Catching. They were worried about it getting hit with a ball. Since the lesson required him to use the SmartBoard several times throughout the lesson, wheeling it into the hallway was not an option. He came up with the idea of protecting it with a gymnastics mat. He simply unfolded the mat and stood it up in front of the SmartBoard. He moved the mat when he need the SmartBoard. Simple yet effective.

In our school district we use the Mimio systems. They work just like Smart Board brand interactive boards but simply attach to an exist white dry erase board already in the classroom. We actually have portable systems on a rolling cart so that multiple teachers can share them. The system is much more portable than the traditional Smart Board and easier for multiple teachers to share.

Our school has smartboards but our department doesn't have one. We could definitely use one in P.E. and Health, but I'm concerned about the projection thing that hangs out. Does your smartboard have one of those or do they make boards without the overhang. I would like to have one in the gym is the smart board overhang doesn't jut out asking for students to hang from it. It would be cool to include videos, picture, and other things easily with the use of a smart board.

We have a room next to our gym with a Promethean Board that classes share from time to time. I believe it is the same thing, different company. I use it to show videos of different sports we may be doing in class that students might have not seen before. Frisbee golf, shuffleboard, etc. I have also used it to show the students our mile run course before we do it. I use Google Earth, which shows our entire school grounds and then I draw the course on the board on top of the image. Kids think it is cool!