HOLDEN – Caulk boards and dry-erase boards have new competition in interactive whiteboards that are designed to work with youngsters who live in a digital world.

“Anything you can run on a regular laptop you can run on the board,” said Gayle Razzaboni, a former teacher who now sells the whiteboards for Promethean Inc.

She stood before Holden School teachers Friday, holding a gray and orange electronic Activpen, showing them exactly how the new electronic “caulk board” works.

“This is a full-blown mouse,” Razzaboni said. “I have left click and right click … I can do anything using the pen that a mouse can do.”

The gadget is designed to keep the attention of youngsters who spend an average of six hours a day text messaging, playing video games and using computers or other digital electronics, she said. With a simple touch, the Internet, graphics, streaming video and other electronic resources are immediately available.

The 78-inch digital sensory board has a hard, white Formica surface that is damage-resistant. The system has several components that are designed for various age groups, and Razzaboni demonstrated three of the most popular items for the teachers.

The Activslate, which controls the board from anywhere within view, the Activexpressions, which looks like a cell phone and allows students to text their answers, and the Activvote, or “the egg,” which is for younger students and has six buttons students can use to answer questions.

Teachers were given an “egg,” and throughout Friday’s demonstration they were asked questions, and their responses were then used to make all sorts of charts. The system recorded the answers anonymously, but Razzaboni said they could be assigned to individual students, and the top of the board showed when the answers were sent.

The system also has a resource library with more than 15,000 items. To show the teachers how easy it is to use, Razzaboni made a few clicks and the interior of a human heart was displayed.

At least six other school systems in the state have Promethean Activboards, and one was delivered to SAD 63 this week, said George Cummings, district technology coordinator.

“We pulled it out of the box Wednesday,” he said.

The cost of SAD 63’s unit, which has an Activslate and Activexpressions, was $4,800 to $4,900, Cummings said. He said the funds for the whiteboard came out of his technology budget.

“It’s very, very impressive,” he said.

Having a whiteboard at each school is the short-term goal and having one in each classroom is the long-term goal, he said.

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