Week 3 - A Post Referencing "16 Whiteboards Capture Students' Attention" (required)

"16 Whiteboards Capture Students' Attention" by Denise Byrd

Summary:

Liberty Drive Elementary School in Thomasville, NC, underwent renovations in 2005. As the reconstruction process was occurring, teachers were asked what sorts of technology equipment they wanted for their classrooms. They decided they would buy 16 interactive white boards.

The article itself discusses the results of this purchase and different ideas that the teachers turned to realities using the whiteboards.

Some things I learned from the article:

• Not only do interactive whiteboards come with clickers/polling devices - but some also come with portable tablets (essentially, miniature whiteboards) that are remotely connected to the main board. Multiple students can be using the mini-boards simultaneously and there is an option to allow only one student to control the board from their seat. The teacher could also walk amongst the students while controlling the main board with the mini one in his/her hands. AWESOME!
• You can ask fill-in-the-blank questions when using the polling devices/clickers. Although this was probably obvious from the start, I hadn't considered fill-in-the-blank questions as an option. I'm glad I've now come to the light (as it were).
• The board's software contains pre-made and already built in maps of the world and different continents and countries. So cool.

It also gave me a couple ideas for using the clickers/polling devices. Here is one:

• Considering that some students might not understand a concept/idea the first time it is explained, while others understand it fully, makes teaching difficult. A teacher must be able to tell who understands and who doesn't. But when a teacher asks the class, "Are there any questions?" or, "Who doesn't understand?" most students, whether they truly grasp the information or not, will say they understand. Why? It's embarrassing to be the "only" one that doesn't get it. So, I thought that using the polling devices, a teacher could put up a simple poll: "Select the response that best describes you:" with the responses varying between, "I understand it completely," and "I don't understand." Other response options could be, "I need more practice," "please explain differently," or "other." The teacher has the option to make the poll anonymous - leaving no room for embarrassment. Also along the lines of student comprehension - the teacher could ask questions regarding the information directly to see who answers correctly/incorrectly, and from there understand who does and doesn't understand the concept.

The impact of interactive whiteboards:

The following are quotes that were contained within the article itself:

"Recently, I asked a question and had my students respond via the hand-held polling devices. The real-time assessment feature clearly indicated that some of my students misunderstood the concept. I went back through my flip charts and instantly reviewed the key components."

--Jennifer Buck, Math Teacher at Liberty Drive Elementary in the Thomasville City Public School District in Thomasville, NC.

"The whiteboard solution has opened my eyes to different ways to teach a particular idea or subject. I'm more inclined to incorporate action, audio and visual aids, and the Internet."

--Peggy Sines, Science Teacher, Thomasville City Public School District in Thomasville, NC.

"This new wave of teaching is so much more hands-on, integrated and thematic instead of worksheet and drill-oriented. Our educators have stepped out of the traditional role of teachers and have assumed the role of facilitators and the students are active participants."

--Denise Byrd, Principal at Liberty Drive Elementary in the Thomasville City Public School District in Thomasville, NC.

Other implications that I have considered myself include:

• Students want to use the board - even college students - so they may be more inclined to answer questions if that means they get to use the board.
• Visuals, audio, and Internet are highly accessible now. Using YouTube videos, adding links, showing pictures, and interacting with students become infinitely easier when using an interactive whiteboard.
• In terms of English, there are more opportunities for collaborative/collective work. For example: placing a paragraph up on the screen and going through it as a class, checking for grammar, spelling, style, and context issues/errors. Students can poll how well they think the paragraph is written, use the board pens to edit, or use the portable mini-boards to correct errors.

EXTRAS:

• SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast (found while searching for an article for this post)
• Mr. Feustel's Classroom Blog (5th grade teacher in the Farmington School District [ISD 192] - posted some cool SMARTBoard ideas - an exercise incorporating Scrabble.)
• 7 Things You Should Know About... Clickers (also found while searching for articles)