Interactive Whiteboards
Interactive Whiteboards can be a great tool to use as a teacher. This technology can be explained as similar to a large tablet. Lessons can come alive with graphics and the ability to move pictures, delete writing and navigate just like you would on a computer. The smart board also comes with a computer program that is tailored to writing lesson plans a great bonus since we are not retrofitting something to teaching instead it was actually created for teaching. This is just the tip of the ice burg and I think in the future we will see many great teaching instruments designed for the smart board.
Articles
http://mhess1.pbworks.com/f/Smart%20Boards%2032699193.pdf
This article is about how the nature of a smart board being interactive allows students even very young to be more engaged in the information being presented. The article is focused on a study done with kindergartners and their reactions and abilities with the smart board. The results are very positive showing that assessments could take place faster and short refresher clips could be shown to reinforce information. The study also concluded that the kindergartners adjusted very quickly to using the smart board and that the only real limitations were the technical setting up on equipment to make it ready to use a smart board.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00933104.2007.10473331#.VENIpWddWSo
This article is about technology in general and teachers being prepared to use technology in the classroom. The study that went for five years suggests that teachers need more technology preparation before they begin teaching. The first few years of teaching can be overwhelming and learning new technology on top of learning to teach on their own can exaggerate the problem. New teachers are still of the generation who were not taught themselves using a lot of technology and I believe are not naturally inclined to use technology. Teachers often rely on older methods of teaching because that is what they are comfortable with and lets face it learning new technology can be time consuming and often once you learn a new technology it is replaced in a few years with something new. However the stance should be that as a teacher I will learn the technology available to me know and continue to learn as the technology progresses. The schools also need to do a better job of teaching new technology to teachers. This argument will be null and void in twenty years because those students who will become teachers then will be of the technology generation and learning new technology will be just automatic to them.
This article is about how the nature of a smart board being interactive allows students even very young to be more engaged in the information being presented. The article is focused on a study done with kindergartners and their reactions and abilities with the smart board. The results are very positive showing that assessments could take place faster and short refresher clips could be shown to reinforce information. The study also concluded that the kindergartners adjusted very quickly to using the smart board and that the only real limitations were the technical setting up on equipment to make it ready to use a smart board.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00933104.2007.10473331#.VENIpWddWSo
This article is about technology in general and teachers being prepared to use technology in the classroom. The study that went for five years suggests that teachers need more technology preparation before they begin teaching. The first few years of teaching can be overwhelming and learning new technology on top of learning to teach on their own can exaggerate the problem. New teachers are still of the generation who were not taught themselves using a lot of technology and I believe are not naturally inclined to use technology. Teachers often rely on older methods of teaching because that is what they are comfortable with and lets face it learning new technology can be time consuming and often once you learn a new technology it is replaced in a few years with something new. However the stance should be that as a teacher I will learn the technology available to me know and continue to learn as the technology progresses. The schools also need to do a better job of teaching new technology to teachers. This argument will be null and void in twenty years because those students who will become teachers then will be of the technology generation and learning new technology will be just automatic to them.
Using a Smart Board
Below is a video of Andre and I co-teaching using a smart board. We had to go to the education office and ask if there was a smart board that could be used other than the one in the library because the one in the library seemed to always be checked out. We did a simple demonstration of putting text on the board and handwriting letters on the board. This was my first time using a smart board or even seeing one in action. I liked using it and am excited to use one more.
Thoughts
I like all the possibility you have with it and future programs that are created for it will be very interesting to try out and see how they could better help my students. I believe it is engaging but with that being said we did have a heck of a time having it operate smoothly. We were working on a portable one and that could have been part of the problem as we had to calibrate the board. In a classroom I think these bugs would be worked out. I do think this is why when we wrote on it the letters did not translate correctly. All in all I think it is a good idea and will continue to improve the way we as future educators are able to deliver information.