June 2, 2009
Blank Canvas – Maximising the Whiteboard
On my recent interest with the interactive whiteboard, i came across an article published in the IE (Independent Education) magazine volume 39 Issue 1.
Written by Sue Osborne, the article discusses the advantages of having a interactive whiteboard in the classroom. The first advantage is that it is a breath of fresh air for pictorial teaching appealing to visual learners. Also, it is beneficial for children that have concentration issues and from a disciplinary perspective it is helpful to the teacher as all eyes are on the board which frees the teacher to observe the children. In addition, when you are writing on a white or black board you have your back facing the class whereas that is not necessary when you have the smart board.
Also, the article discusses the interactive whiteboards main feature in that it is hands on. Allowing teachers and students to write on the screen to mark or hide texts. images, photographs, click view resources and videos can all be downloaded and presented as part of a lesson.
Furthermore, the article presents the idea of using textbooks in the classroom as a thing of the past. Additionally, students that are absent from a lesson could download lessons from the school portal.
Though there are pros, Sue Osborne also mentions the downfall. As well as the screen and projector, audio cabelling and installation this could come to a cost of $5000 per classroom although the price could drop in the near future.
This article was quite interesting, and gave me quite a perspective of the whiteboards within school classrooms.
Attached below is the article, seperated into two pages. Just click on them, and it should load.
Author: Sue Osborne
Author: Sue Osborne
