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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia is one of the largest school districts in the United States. With a student population of 166,000 students, this district operates very much like a business, and their practices have received accolades from the corporate world. Their strategic approach to education includes detailed compliance to the No Child Left Behind Act, media relations expertise, targeted pursuit of grant and award opportunities, business and community partnerships and a thriving teacher research community.

As one would expect of a district of this size, FCPS has a comprehensive multiyear plan for effective technology use. The plan includes FCPS's award-winning Education Decision Support Library (EDSL) data warehouse system, course authoring and testing tools, classroom integration practices, curriculum-specific online content initiatives and the goal of full staff compliance with state technology competency standards. (For details, see the 2005 technology plan listed under Resource links below.)

One of FCPS's more recent technology projects is a district-wide implementation of SMART Board interactive whiteboards. This implementation is made possible through the district's K12Nects (Networking Education-Community-Teachers-Students) partnership with the Fairfax County Public Schools Education Foundation, and corporate sponsorship by Verizon.

The district's interactive whiteboard strategy is laid out on page 28 of their technology plan: "Interactive whiteboards allow teachers to illustrate curriculum information visually, reinforce English vocabulary, and provide students with a variety of visual media . . . The interactive whiteboard allows FCPS teachers and students to access and display websites, run educational software, run live video from a camera, record, capture, highlight and review notes from a classroom discussion, deliver PowerPoint presentations and more."

David Koritko, high school technology chairman and former assistant director of K12Nects program, has been working with SMART Board interactive whiteboards for over three years and offers additional feedback about the effectiveness of the technology: "The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is revolutionary because of its interactivity, flexibility and ease of use. I've seen a significant increase in teacher productivity and student performance across all grade levels with the implementation of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard within the K–12 learning environment. This technology tool is one of the most reliable ways for schools to change the way students interact and learn with the least amount of capital investment. Teachers will appreciate the selection of user templates and other great features that can only enhance their existing instructional methodologies. This is the technology tool for teachers and classes of the 21st century."

For more information
Interactive Whiteboards at FCPS
www.fcps.edu/DIS/OITS/knects/partners.htm
2005 Technology Plan
www.fcps.edu/DIT/techplan/fy05techplan.pdf