Interactive Whiteboards- The Future Is Already Here!
Interactive Whiteboards- The future is already here!
Halford, B. (2007). Interactive Whiteboards: The Future Is Already Here. The Australian Educational Leader 29, 40-42.
‘Interactive whiteboards provide an extraordinary opportunity to expand teachers’ ability to engage students, particularly boys’ (Halford, 2007). I feel that they do however, have the potential to present a number of challenges such as excessive demands on staff time and increased professional training, for example with the equipment and researching suitable sites for use within the classroom with children. In the article from Halford, it is evident that many teachers feel that the time spent on interactive whiteboards is ‘beneficial to their students and provides significant improvements in classroom pedagogy’ (Halford, 2007).
Training for Teachers
It is critical for training to be provided to teachers. Schools need to provide time for teachers to spend time trialling, revising, collaborating, discussing and refining their skills at the their own pace. I feel that if you hurry the process teachers may feel overwhelmed. ‘Schools need to provide time for teachers to simply play with this new teaching tool. Schools need to allow time for self-discovery and to budget for this’ Halford, 2007). It is also important that casual teachers who enter schools with SMART boards know how to use simple functions on the board, otherwise a standard white/blackboard may need to be provided. Alternatively, training may need to be given to these casual teachers.
Archiving
It is important to share with other staff members specific sites that you come across that would be effective in classrooms. It is also important to share exciting functions that you discover through the use of the SMART board in trial and error. Staff meetings may need to include a time of sharing SMART board experiences to assist teachers who may be struggling and to ensure that there is a whole school approach to SMART boards.
Installation/ Costs
The cost of SMART boards, can be very pricey, however after reading about SMART boards it is evident that the experience they provide is very worthwhile when used well. After purchasing the board, schools also need to be careful to take into consideration the costs of an electrician to provide power, a data projector, furniture for the equipment and accessories such as keyboards, remotes and possibly a new computer to run the SMART board.
Other factors need to be considered such as the board being placed at the right height for the teacher and for the students as well as OH&S issues such as wires being on the ground that students may trip over.
So it is definitely evident that many teachers globally are realising how beneficial the SMART board is and how it can create a major change to the way the teacher teaches and the way the content is delivered to students. It really is a fun and interactive way to teach children!
