2007-2008 Promethean Board Survey
Summary of Findings
A survey of current Promethean Board users was conducted in order to inform decision
making about future technology purchases and aid in the design of professional development
that will allow teachers to successfully integrate the Promethean Board and ActivStudio
software into their curriculum. All teachers who were provided a Promethean Board at the
beginning of the 2007-2008 school year comprised the survey population. Results revealed
that the implementation of Promethean Boards in the classrooms has:
- increase student engagement,
- improve student behavior during class,
- improved overall student learning, and
- proved successful in subjects such as Language Arts, English, Social Science, Science,
and Special Education.
Overall, it appears that implementing the Promethean Boards in classrooms has been an
effective technological tool for increasing overall student engagement.
Introduction
During the 2007-2008 school year, TUSD installed Promethean Boards across the district in
an effort to increase student engagement through the integration of technology in the
classroom. This installation was a continuation of efforts that began during the 2005-2006
school year with Smart Boards being installed in English and Math classrooms. Based on the
success of the Smart Board installation, TUSD continued to install interactive white boards
in classrooms across the district. The current survey is focused on the latest roll out of
Promethean Boards during the 2007-2008 school year. The survey was conducted in order to
inform decision making about future technology purchases and aid in the design of
professional development that will allow teachers to successfully integrate the Promethean
Board and ActivStudio software into their curriculum.
Survey & Data Analysis Procedures
The Educational Technology Department designed a survey of current Promethean Board users.
The survey questions and design were modeled after the 2005-2006 Smart Board Survey
[
View 2005-2006 Smart Board Survey Resutls ]. Department of Accountability and Research
staff conducted the survey for the Educational Technology Department between May 5th and
May 16th 2008 through an automated online survey application
[View
Online Survey Procedures].
Educational Technology staff provided a list of 515 teachers who had received a Promethean
Board in their classroom. Accountability and Research sent an initial invitation email to
the 515 teachers on the morning of May 5th. A reminder email was then sent on the morning of
May 13th to those teachers who had not yet completed the survey. The final response rate for
the current survey was 47%.
Data Findings (Statistics and Coded Comments)
Based on summarized results of the respondents who participated in the survey, the
Promethean Board implemented in classrooms has been an effective technological tool for
increasing overall student engagement. Most of the population surveyed agreed that the
Promethean Board has increased student engagement, improved student behavior during class,
and overall student learning. Over half of those surveyed also reported that they are
satisfied with the Promethean Boards.
Of the teachers who received the Promethean Board at the beginning of the year, 15.7%
reported that they “never” use it (Figure 1). Some of the reasons mentioned include a
lack of necessary working hardware, lack of training, or the need for additional, more
in-depth training and time to practice with the equipment. However, of the teachers that
do use the Promethean Board, 47.1% said they use it on a daily basis. In addition to
teachers utilizing Promethean Boards during lectures, students are encouraged to use the
technology as well. During interactive activities, survey respondents reported that 30.2%
of their students use the Promethean Board on a weekly basis.
Figure 1. Frequency of use for Promethean Board
The majority of survey respondents use the Promethean Board during Language Arts (58.7%),
English (27.7%), Social Science (24.8%), Science (21.1%), and Special Education classes (20.7%)
(Figure 2).
Figure 2. Subjects taught with the Promethean Board
Of the participants that responded with a comment to question 7 (Are you using your
Promethean Board for anything other than the activities listed in questions 4, 5, and 6?),
19.8% mentioned that they utilize the Promethean Board to incorporate movies, films, and music
into their daily lessons, 11.3% stated that they use the technology to access media, and 10.4%
gather and display Internet information (Table 1). The most frequently occurring comment to
this question, however, was that the Promethean Board does not work, is not set up, or that
the teacher does not have one in their classroom (21.7%). Additional examples of uses outside
use of the Promethean Board during lesson presentations, demonstrating learning, and interactive
class activities include: lessons for Professional Development, assessments, bell work,
programming flipcharts, tutoring, use with a microscope, parent teacher conferences, and webinars.
When asked what types of resources were most effective with the Promethean Board, 39.3%
commented that online Internet sources were easier to present to their classes using the Promethean
Board. Additional resources included those that provided enrichment or interactive activities to
students (22.1%), audio/video/text media (18.0%) resources, and flipcharts (17.2%). Other resources
mentioned included Activotes, ActivStudio, learning games, backgrounds, text adoptions, and graphic
organizers.
The final comment question in the survey requested feedback on any other comments regarding the
implementation or use of the Promethean Board. Again, the most frequently occurring code utilized
in this question was that Promethean Boards were not working properly due to broken/missing hardware
or computers, that the boards were not set up properly, or that teachers did not have a Promethean
Board in their classroom (25.4%). Additionally, survey participants mentioned 22.4% of the time that
more training on the use of the Promethean Boards would be appreciated. Other comments referring to
the implementation of the Promethean Board focused on suggestions of how to improve set up of the board
in the classroom, the increased need for available site techs, as well as the need for other resources
such as replacement bulbs, and pens.
Table 1
The majority of the survey population agree that implementation of the Promethean Board has increased
student engagement, learning, and improved student behavior (Figure 3). Only a small percentage believes
that the technology has negatively impacted behavior. However, for the most part, the technology
positively engages students during class.
Figure 3. Summary of results to the statement: Use of the Promethean board has improved
student engagement, behavior, and student learning in my class.
When participants were asked to comment on how students have responded to the Promethean Board,
28.5% answered extremely enthusiastically, while 46.3% answered enthusiastically (Figure 4.) No one
responded negatively to this question.
In response to the question: in general, how have your students responded to their use of the
Promethean Board, 36.0% responded extremely enthusiastically, and 40.9% answered enthusiastically.
Again, no one responded negatively to this question.
Figure 4. Summary of results to the questions: In general, how have your students
responded to your/their use of the Promethean Board?
Overall, the general satisfaction of the Promethean Board appears to be positive. The majority
(over 60%) of responses to the question regarding overall satisfaction fall within the very satisfied
and satisfied categories. Only 6.6% of respondents stated that they were dissatisfied with the
Promethean Board, while 2.5% feel very dissatisfied.
Discussion & Recommendations
Even though over 60% of those utilizing the Promethean Boards in their classroom are either very
satisfied or satisfied with the technology, 15.7% reported that they “never” use it. This group of
respondents mentioned that some of the reasons why they don’t use the Promethean Boards are because
necessary hardware went unfixed or replaced, the boards were not compatible with provided computers
and/or laptops, technical support was insufficient, and that not enough in-depth training was
provided. It was also mentioned that some requests to have Promethean Boards fixed, or parts
replaced, went unfulfilled. Some solutions to the above comments may include:
- providing Professional Development in the area of how to troubleshoot Promethean Boards when technical support is unavailable,
- providing training at different times throughout the year (different times of day, a session each quarter,
with varying skill levels in mind, etc.) in order to capture the largest need,
- ordering extra bulbs and pens for each school, or include these items in the school operating budget, or
- creating a technology support specialist position that would cater to Promethean Boards users only.
Overall, the survey results revealed that Promethean Board users are utilizing a variety of resources to
both engage their students in learning as well as provide opportunities for their students to interact with
the boards for various learning activities. In summary, it appears that implementing Promethean Boards in
classrooms has been an effective technological tool for increasing overall student engagement. Most of the
population surveyed agreed that the Promethean Board has increased student engagement, improved both student
behavior during classes and overall student learning.
Qualitative analysis and Summary Report written by
Jennifer Langdon-Pollock,
Research Project Manager, Accountability and Research
Office of Accountability and
Research
442 East 7th Street Tucson, AZ 85705
Phone: (520) 225-5418
Fax: (520) 225-5226
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Last updated May 2008
