Within the article, I found it interesting that there are actually studies that show that interactive whiteboards provide a more effective teaching method. I always thought that different forms of technology used in the classroom were just the teachers' preferred methods of teaching. I guess I never realized that their use of technology was not only to aid their lesson plans but to also expose use to new forms of learning. In particular with the interactive whiteboards, the students' participation increases and they become more engaged in the lesson.
At my high school, only the industrial arts teacher had a smart board and he never used it to promote interaction between the teacher and the students. Therefore, I was never really exposed to what the smart board could really do or how it could help in the classroom. However, since more schools are using smart boards, I find it as a very advantageous to learn how to properly use them so I can create an environment where the students will be excited to learn. In the article, I read a line talking about how today's students are becoming more tech-savvy. In order for those tech-savvy students to relate better with me as the teacher and the lesson being taught, I find it rather important to introduce them to forms of learning that are new and exciting. This could create a bridge between the subject material and the students' interest.
3 comments:
I completely agree with your idea of needing to keep the tech-savvy students interacting with the lesson at all times. I loved when my Calculus teacher used her tablet PC during class to get us all involved. It really did make Calculus more interesting. And I think that in addition to our future students showing more interest in the subject when more up-to-date technology is incorporated, we demonstrated the same thing when we were in high school. Our generation has grown up with constantly changing technology, so we are used to keeping up with it. However, some of our previous teachers did not have the same desire. I think that as teachers we need to have a constant desire to keep up with all of the technology to help aide our students in every way possible.
I completely agree with keeping up with technology, however after reading your blog, I started to wonder about all of the under-privileged schools. Since they don't have the opportunity to have technology in their school, how would those teachers incorporate technology, such as interactive whiteboards, in their classroom? Even if they did get the opportunity to have interactive whiteboards in their room, since the students have not grown up with technology, how well would they be able to comprehend it? I guess one point that I am trying to get at is that I am not quite sure how interactive whiteboards are supposed to help students that are not tech-savvy or have not had the opportunity to become tech-savvy. The other point that I am not quite sure how to feel about is the case where the schools cannot provide updated technology for its students.
I hope that the government will help underprivileged schools obtain smart boards because if a classroom had one, there would probably be less expenses on other items. For example: if a class had a smart board, maybe they could use its technologies to replace some classroom expenses on books or chalk. Maybe I am being ridiculous though. Either way, the article said that regardless of social class or income level, the students using interactive whiteboards had higher ICT levels. Thus, I believe even students who are not technology-savvy will benefit greatly.
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