WATERLOO - All classrooms in eight Waterloo Community schools will be outfitted with interactive whiteboards this summer.

The Board of Education Monday unanimously approved the $1.92 million cost to purchase 295 Promethean Activboards and equipment, being installed by Haddock Educational Technologies of Wichita, Kan.

Haddock was the low bidder last fall when 129 Activboards were installed in classrooms and libraries across the district. Funding comes from the 1 percent school sales tax, which can pay for technology upgrades in construction or remodeling projects.

The schools are Kittrell, Edison, Black Hawk and Orange elementaries; George Washington Carver Academy; and East, Expo and West high schools. Computer screen images can be projected onto Activboards and manipulated by touch or a wireless pen. The system includes software to create visuals for classroom lessons.

Before the vote, three teachers with Activboards in their classrooms spoke about the benefits of the technology. Audrey Kimball, a Central Middle School teacher, may spend "four or five hours" on a visual for a lesson, "but I'll use it again next year." She added, "I can't imagine my room without it."

Board member Lyle Schmitt said the impact of using Activboards "should show up in a test score," allowing officials to determine the technology's impact. Superintendent Gary Norris noted it would be difficult to separate that from other ongoing efforts to boost achievement.

"This is not a magic bullet," said board member Mike Young. "It's a tool for the teachers in the classroom."

Costs include purchasing two types of hand-held equipment - Activote for elementaries and Activexpression for middle and high schools - which students use to respond to multiple-choice and short-answer questions. The other equipment is the Activslate, a hand-held electronic writing surface. Training costs are also included in the price.

The Activboards will cost $1.01 million ($3,431 each) and 295 Activslates will cost $84,075 ($285 each). Sixty sets of 32 Activotes will cost $83,400 ($1,390 per set) and 234 sets of 32 Activexpressions will cost $531,180 ($2,270 per set). Power and data connections and equipment installation will cost $206,800.