SMART Board vs. Active Board

I was observing at Newcastle Elementary today and I was in the fourth grade classroom. They are in the process of putting active boards in all the classrooms. It was interesting to see the active board in use. It is similar to the smart board but has some differences. There is only one pen, and the clickers are different. I really liked the active board it was very easy to use and the clickers were very effective. They were high quality and the kids could stay in their seat and answer. I though it might be hard for the 1st grade students to adapt to but they picked up on it very well. The teacher did a small assignment with the fourth graders and their 1st grade buddies. The 1st graders loved it and had a great time and use the clickers correctly and quickly. I was impressed. There were some things I did not like as much as the smart board. The pen makes this horrible screatching noise when you write on the board. There was also no tray to set your pens in and no eraser. I did not get to play with it so I am not sure how you would erase. I was really interested in learning more about it. The more I am at Newcastle the more impressed I am with the technology there. They have upgraded to new projectors as well as video projectors which I find very useful. They also have computers in each classroom for the teacher and a computer for the students to access. I feel they are embracing technology and teaching the students how to use it.