Integrating New Technology Into The Classroom - The Interactive Whiteboard

Another important benefit of implementing technology in the classroom is it can help teachers create personalize instruction and make it easier to provide accommodations. It can be very difficult and time consuming to differentiate instruction for a classroom of students. The use of technology can make this a much more workable task. By using technology, the teacher can differentiate instruction with just a few swipes per student. It also gives the teacher more options to work with depending on student need. For example, if a student has trouble writing, they can use an iPad with voice adaptive software to answer questions or complete assignments. This eliminates the stress they may feel being forced to write during an assignment or test situation.

In group discussions with the students I teach, I have found that they prefer this method of teaching as they can visualise the lesson, which enables them to understand it better. Recently we have been looking at cells, tissues and organs. I used Power point to begin the lessons with, asking questions and encouraging students to ask questions back. I also make sure there are plenty of hand-outs which they can use to complete the work set. I try and make all the work set and hand-outs as visual as possible to capture and hold their imagination. Using technologies in the classroom can be a great asset to all teaching methods as the internet can open up whole new worlds for students. They can help students who struggle with conventional teaching to adapt and move forward with their learning. The Power points and hand-outs can only be used to a certain extent and find that not having interactive whiteboards can sometimes stifle the learning. We only have a small computer suite and this has to be booked in advance so all these can hinder the students. As some of the students we work live in children’s homes or with foster carers we have to restrict what they can access on the internet for child protection. This then can cause problems with the likes of youtube, facebook and twitter as access is denied.

Some learn better through one sense than another. Some learn best through visual approaches, some through tactile approach and others through auditory approaches, on the other hand some learn through a combination of the two. The use of visual stimulation is essential to learning because it is necessary for understanding as imagery is what helps individuals comprehend and remember material (Stoffers 2011). Stoffers further points out that there are a variety of ways teachers can utilize visual aids in the classroom. The mode of presentation can vary from traditional chalkboards and whiteboards to bulletin boards to PowerPoint and even to new technologies like the interactive whiteboard (also referred to as the Smart board). Visual aids can improve learning up to 400% (Stein 2009). This means teachers must put careful thought into building interactive and effective visual aids to help their

Like all technology, the SMART Board has its glitches every now and then. Sometimes, Miss Hampton’s pens do not show up as the color she wants when she writes. The board can also cause stress on Kauth as well. If it is not working properly, it takes her quite some time to figure out what is wrong, this means that the class gets started later and there is not as much time to work. Some of Hampton’s students get distracted during her class and start to draw on her SMART Board, which definitely aggravates Miss Hampton. Bill Ferriter has nothing good to say in the article “Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards”. He believes he can do the same lessons without a SMART Board. Ferriter argues that it is a tool that does little to promote independent discovery and collaborative work. He mentions that interactive whiteboards are an under informed and irresponsible purchase and they are nothing more than vain attempts to buy change. Everyone has different views of the SMART Board, and some even wonder if it will continue to grow and change our

First of all, technology provides you with effective ways of learning during school. A variety of people learn better by just sitting in class listening to a lecture or simply watching a PowerPoint. But then on the other hand, some people learn better visualizing what they are learning. With technology, you would be provided with this opportunity to get visual views of what you are learning. You could find a video over the topic you are discussing in class, maybe look at some pictures or animations, and perhaps you can even look for an

Teachers need to know how to use the technology. Teachers will use “educational strategies” (Rosen 4) that were successful in the past and simply transferred the content from a whiteboard to a PowerPoint on a Smartboard. Why waste time, energy, and money on something that is more or less the same style of teaching, just on a different medium? Throughout Rosen’s book, Rewired: Understanding The iGeneration And The Way They Learn, he references the fact that the current generation of students are completely different from what teachers have seen in the past (4). As a result of that, students learn unlike anything teachers have experienced. Rosen writes that “We literally have to rewire such teachers to understand and see that their belief system, while having validity in the past, may not be accurate in today’s world.” (184) Even Joel Klein, the CEO of Amplify a company whose goal is to integrate technology into the classroom, knows that the success of technology rests almost solely on how teachers use it. Klein even said in his interview“If it’s not transformative.... it’s not worth it” (Rotella

The technology made it very easy to access my grades and the syllabus. It did make it hard when sometimes when the information would change from day to day, but for the most part, I found it a useful tool. My favorite part of the Blackboard site was that, at any given time, I was able to determine my grades, which was very helpful in aiding my learning process. CQ researcher was the other tool that I utilized for all of my papers. It allowed me to have access to many different topics that I would never have thought to write about. It allowed me to view information and resources from both sides of an issue. Technology played a crucial role in my

The students are more engaged when we use the SMART board. They participate more and pay closer attention to the lesson because they want to go up to the SMART board. Even though we had technical difficulties and quite a bit of chatting, the students still appeared to be engaged in the lesson. I had the students discuss in their groups the word that matched the definition. The students groups are made up of mixed abilities.

Although I had stepped into high school classes before I was not prepared for the student’s aversion to participating in classroom competitions if they involved going up to the white board. Not all of my students feel this way but enough to bandwagon out of the idea. I will have to slowly progress from individual working to small group work and finally to classroom discussions and having the students share their knowledge via whiteboard use.

We were able to present an Instructional Technology Plan that guide major adoptions in technology for the schools with special emphasis on the integration of technology to teaching and learning. Once implementation began we were able to see Interactive Whiteboards in every classroom in the High School and most core content area classrooms in the middle school. Elementary was reserved to a second year and every classroom and School Library was included in the initiative. The plan was owned by the stakeholders and they were engaged in professional development to take full advantage of the technologies.

My practicum classroom had 4 computers, 3 Ipads, and a smart bored. I got to help students using all three of these technologies. I used all three to help teach vocabulary to the students. The teacher used the black board also for math and vocabulary lessons. The teacher would use her

Whiteboards was invented in the late 1950’s but was not too popular until after the dry erase marker was invented in 1975. And another reason why they became popular is that black boards were hard to wipe down, but thanks to whiteboards wiping it down was much easier. There are two people that are credited with the creation of the whiteboard, according to “the workplace depot” photographer named Martin Heit says he stumbled upon what would eventually be called a whiteboard. And the other guy that was credited for the invention was Albert Stallion, when he was working at American steel production company he suggested enabling steel sheets can prove to be a good addition to the writing board. Some workers ignored his idea but people think that thanks to his proposal they were able to make the whiteboard better.

For example, students who learn better by listening can understand more fully with audio and videos shown on the board. (Bell ) For visual learners, students can watch as the lesson develops across the board. Research has shown that students of all ages respond well to interactive white boards. With everyone loving the boards so much, students will jump at every chance to use the board. Interactive Whiteboards make kids want to learn. It makes them more willing to listen and focus on the lesson. Fifty years ago, classrooms didn’t have this kind of technology. Classrooms only had black boards or white boards. (Bell )

There is a growing trend in the use of technology in the classroom. As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to use manipulatives in my lessons to increase meaning and authenticity for students. I would love to keep my students engaged, motivated and interactive in the classroom and still be able to get through the content each day. In order to achieve this, I need to have an arsenal of tools to draw from. That is why I agree with (Tataroglu & Erduran, 2010) as stated in the International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education (IEJEE) that “The use of technologies like IWBs in the classroom can provide teachers and students convenience and variety. “

Tools like Blackboard, or WebCT can help facilitate both assessment and support inquiries on the subject matter. Having objective criteria will help evaluate students and give the student a guideline for what is expected in the class. Students gain increased flexibility in taking tests or turning assignments in. Gone are the days of slipping the assignment under the professor's door or trusting the department