It's a SMART world in N. Merrick schools

It's a safe bet that any dust settling on the blackboard in Lisa Drewes's classroom at Fayette Elementary School in North Merrick is a byproduct of abandonment rather than chalk.

The fourth-grade room is outfitted with one of 15 SMART Boards in the North Merrick School District, a new tool that teachers are crediting with revolutionizing teaching methods and making conventional blackboards obsolete. "I put my schedule on it every day, aside from that I don't write on my blackboard at all," Drewes said.

The draw of the SMART Board, according to Drewes and other North Merrick teachers, is more than just the interactive features. SMART Boards transform classrooms with each lesson and promote student interaction in a way that blackboards -- or overhead projectors, in-class movies or any other traditional teaching tool, for that matter -- have not.

SMART Boards made their way into North Merrick schools last summer and at the end of the 2008-09 school year. The influx was the result of a $25,000 grant secured by state Sen. Charles Fuschillo's office and funds raised by the North Merrick teacher center. Since then, poster boards have slowly covered over blackboards around the district, as teachers and students adapt to the new capabilities at their fingertips.