Students entered their classrooms the first day back from spring break to find their teachers confusedly fumbling with a bulky, black screen. The Promethean Board is a large, interactive monitor that serves as a digital whiteboard. The new technology is an attempt to better the education of students, yet from the day of their installations they have done more harm than good. The long term effects of having this piece of technology is detrimental in numerous ways.
Promethean World TLD, founded in 1997, manufactures these boards to elevate learning and teaching with sustainable and efficient products. While they may elevate the learning environment, they also bring health issues.
Poor sleeping habits, strained eyesight, screen dependency disorders, and a rise in anxiety and stress issues are all tied to immense amounts of screen exposure. Almost everywhere a student turns there is a screen: lying beside them is their phone, in front of them their chromebook, and up in front of the room the Promethean Board. The board is adding to the already screen packed environment we learn in.
In addition, the 86 inch board takes up an exorbitant amount of space. Students are forced to adapt to a life of dodging the black barrier and hopping over power cords in their small classrooms. While a handful of teachers have the board bolted to the wall, most teachers do not.
Sophomore Jazmmn Viot-Preciado has witnessed these spacial issues, along with another problem with the display.
“My math teacher has been tripping over the cords, and I am concerned that a kid is going to fall,” Viot-Preciado said. “The display is inconvenient because sometimes it will awkwardly crop videos and slideshows.”
Now, if teachers want to plan lessons using the board, they need to spend more time creating slideshows or documents to display. The excess preparation seems unnecessary when teachers can just use the familiar Hitachi Projectors.
Aside from the giant display, there is not a vast difference between the Promethean Board and the Hitachi Projectors. Most features the Promethean offers are things that teachers can do with a whiteboard, a marker, and a projector.
The only major difference I see between the Promethean Board and the Hitachi Projector is the price point, as the 800 boards cost VUSD a total of three million dollars. The money could’ve been reallocated to funding the money management classes, marine biology department, art department, and other underfunded programs. Additionally, the money could have been used towards hiring more paraeducators and professional tutors, something the teachers who volunteer their time to do would appreciate.
Some may argue that the detestment stems from the newness of the boards, and while its complicated system is a con amongst many, teachers and students will learn to adapt to them. The real issues lie in the future, when these negatives continue to affect us. Years with these screens will forever change the classroom environment, as this is another step towards a digital future.
“I wish I could use a laser pointer and have an easier way to use an external DVD hard drive with it [Promethean Boards],” French and Spanish teacher Melynda Atkins said. She was the first teacher to receive the board in 2023. “There are just a bunch of extra steps and cables that you have to work with.”
All in all, the Promethean board has brought nothing but trouble. Its benefits are heavily outweighed by its negatives, and it is time we start to take screen exposure issues seriously.
