New Opportunities with Technology at St. Theresa School [VIDEO]

When Donna Sutton took over as principal of St. Theresa School in Briarcliff Manor this year, enhancing technology in the classrooms was one of her three major goals.

And as of two weeks ago, this initiative took a leap forward when interactive whiteboards were installed in all of the school's classrooms—from kindergarten to eighth grade—courtesy of the Archdiocese of New York.

"Kids are now more excited about learning," said Sutton.

While she acknowledged variations of the SMART Board have been around for some time, "It's come such a long way," the principal commented.

Victoria DiBiasi, who teaches science, math and technology classes at the school, received a "five-day intensive training" for the boards two summers ago and is now using them "all the time."

"Whether it's for a math lesson—it gives you the accessibility of using different colored pens—to using YouTube videos, it allows the kids to interact with different lessons plans," DiBiasi explained. "They can come up and click and drag things to expose what's underneath."

On Friday, DiBiasi's sixth grade science class watched a YouTube clip of a rap about the water cycle and took turns writing in answers and sharing what they learned by defining terms like "condensation" and "transpiration" by moving clips around on the board.

"I like it better than a chalkboard," said Christina Aguilar, a sixth grader. "We get familiar with the stuff and we can see pictures of how it really looks."

Anthony Brocole, also a sixth grade student, agreed the boards make lessons less abstract, citing a whiteboard lesson that showed how earthquakes develop.

For Sutton, the boards represent the school's effort "to be on the cutting edge."

"I think kids need to be prepared for college, high school and beyond in a real way," she explained.

Sutton has also been focusing on advancing the school's science lab and improving the literacy program at the school—two of her other major goals.

All of the school's teachers will be attending development and training for the boards in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the Home School Association (HSA) is donating seven laptops and two Mac computers to the school, which can be used with the boards.

HSA President Nicole Hallinan said the laptops will allow teachers to be portable when planning and delivering lessons.

"The HSA is so amazingly supportive of me and the progress I want to start," said Sutton. "It's a win-win no matter how you look at it."