Most of the classrooms in my high school had these white boards, and I only ever saw them utilized twice. They were used in my freshman year Spanish class, and we used the touch screens to conjugate verbs. We had done the same activity before, with magnets on our classroom dry erase board. As far as I could tell, the IWB did not offer anything the teachers didn't have access to through projectors and an little activity. Because of this, I don't really see how the IWB can help with a differentiated classroom.
Overall, I think technology in a classroom is good. I take notes from power points every day. If I miss information in class, I can email the professor about it. Technology makes it easier to learn and acts as a tool for the teacher, and this is why it is useful. When we have it just for the sake of it, however, it become almost cumbersome. The IWBs were a chore, which is why my teachers seldom used them. They can be useful, but are not necessary in every classroom. What makes learning worthwhile is the student/teacher relationship.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Interactive Whiteboards in Today's Classroom
As someone who recently graduated from a high school that boasted technological prowess, my opinion of Interactive White Boards is that they're little more than an expensive way to show off what a great school system you have without actually improving the curriculum or learning techniques. As the article "Some Educators Question if Whiteboards, Other High-tech Tools Raise Achievement" states, there is little evidence to support that these boards actually improve student test scores, and are largely just a fad. I feel that they are a bad example of technology's usefulness in the classroom because the boards a more or less just large touch screens, and offer little that will truly utilize a teacher's lesson plan.
Most of the classrooms in my high school had these white boards, and I only ever saw them utilized twice. They were used in my freshman year Spanish class, and we used the touch screens to conjugate verbs. We had done the same activity before, with magnets on our classroom dry erase board. As far as I could tell, the IWB did not offer anything the teachers didn't have access to through projectors and an little activity. Because of this, I don't really see how the IWB can help with a differentiated classroom.
Overall, I think technology in a classroom is good. I take notes from power points every day. If I miss information in class, I can email the professor about it. Technology makes it easier to learn and acts as a tool for the teacher, and this is why it is useful. When we have it just for the sake of it, however, it become almost cumbersome. The IWBs were a chore, which is why my teachers seldom used them. They can be useful, but are not necessary in every classroom. What makes learning worthwhile is the student/teacher relationship.
Most of the classrooms in my high school had these white boards, and I only ever saw them utilized twice. They were used in my freshman year Spanish class, and we used the touch screens to conjugate verbs. We had done the same activity before, with magnets on our classroom dry erase board. As far as I could tell, the IWB did not offer anything the teachers didn't have access to through projectors and an little activity. Because of this, I don't really see how the IWB can help with a differentiated classroom.
Overall, I think technology in a classroom is good. I take notes from power points every day. If I miss information in class, I can email the professor about it. Technology makes it easier to learn and acts as a tool for the teacher, and this is why it is useful. When we have it just for the sake of it, however, it become almost cumbersome. The IWBs were a chore, which is why my teachers seldom used them. They can be useful, but are not necessary in every classroom. What makes learning worthwhile is the student/teacher relationship.
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I agree with you! We should improve curriculum before we do anything with the smartboards or updating the school's technology. Your personal experiences here help to state why you have the opinion that you do. And your ending paragragh about how technology can benefit in some cases is really good and I love the ending sentence "What makes learning worthwhile is the student/teacher relationship."
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what you said. In my high school we also had IWBs but they were rarely used. It's sad that schools spend so much money on them and then they go to waste.
ReplyDeleteYour post was interesting, I do agree that interactive whiteboards can sometimes just be for show. In my high school almost every classroom had a smart board and the teachers used them everyday. The teachers made the lesson interactive with some not all the material but it made us pay attention more.
ReplyDeleteI liked reading your post. I agree that sometimes the whiteboards are used just for show because most teachers do not take the time to utilize them but I feel that for the teachers who do, they can be an enormous tool in the classroom no matter what the age level. It is sad that you never got to experience a whiteboard in a positive manner as a learner. Hopefully you can help others experience them positively as a future teacher.
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