Module 1 blog post

Educational technology is continually changing just as technology changes in everyday society. I have chosen the Interactive White Board (IWB) or Smart Board to discuss for this forum. The Smart Board has been touted as the modern way to get kids out of their seats and engaged in the classroom. It has also been said to increase critical thinking skills and of course test scores.  In fact it would seem that these effects would actually be caused by the technology allowing a teacher to be more effective not necessarily because of the Smart Board itself.

The advantages of an IWB are numerous. The IWB allows the instructor to use pre made lessons on the computer without using a conventional white board. Many of the lessons teachers need can be found on the internet ready to go thus saving time for the teacher to complete other necessary work in the classroom. There are interactive lessons and games students can use during instruction time to make the lessons more interesting. The IWB is connected to the teacher computer so all work completed by the teacher and the students can be saved for later or printed out for home use.

The disadvantages come in the same form as much of the latest technology in society today, cost. The price for putting IWB’s in every classroom is prohibitive. Also the training necessary to have students become effective users of SMART board is also expensive. The board itself also requires a projector mounted in the ceiling for best use and that in itself is another expensive issue. Students will also have to be trained in the use of the board and the new technology often just becomes a game to them rather than a learning tool.

The use of the SMART board would become more ensconced in education if were more affordable. There are grants available but that is not a guaranteed source of income and certainly cannot cover every school. There is also the issue of some schools moving to the SMART TV which has touch screen and computer connection with less cost and many schools have changed to these SMART TV’s instead of the IWB. I wonder if this going to be a case of an emergent technology (IWB) becoming obsolete rather quickly as the SMART TV replaces it.

I taught in China for a couple of months last summer in some private schools. Every classroom had the interactive television rather than IWB’s. It was the first time I used a SMART TV in the classroom and I liked it. Although the IWB has some advantages because so many lessons have been designed for it.

The promethean website demonstrates one of the more commonly used IWB in classrooms:

http://www.prometheanworld.com/us/english/education/products/interactive-whiteboard-systems/

 

The website below is an example of a teacher asking for a donation of a smart TV to her classroom:

 

https://classroomcash.org/winner?id=93