Forum 1: Interactive Whiteboards
Forum 1: Interactive Whiteboards (updated)
1. View the recording about Interactive Whiteboards in Kindergarten for background
2. Read this IWB research study: Interactive Whiteboards and Student Achievement File attachment.
In a post to this Forum:
3. Evaluate the reading. Does it seem be a logical examination of the topic(s)?
4. What do you think of the whiteboard activities used in the study?
5. What additional information would you like to know about IWBs?
6. Respond to one classmate's comments before class time
Response:
Evaluate the reading. Does it seem be a logical examination of the topic(s)? This study conducted research on interactive whiteboards on students’ performance in the subjects of language arts, mathematics, and reading in a small city school district of northern Ohio. The study shows a logical examination of these topics based on third to eighth grade students. This study also compared student centered approach and the traditional methods. It was found that those who used interactive whiteboards creatively scored higher than the teachers using interactive whiteboards as a mundane tool. This study used the Ohio Achievement Test Scores of these students to examine if the students performed better than those without the use of interactive whiteboards. The study showed a small increase in the test scores of the students who had the use of interactive whiteboards. Which shows us that there is potential in using the interactive whiteboards creatively to enhance students’ performance and learning. What do you think of the whiteboard activities used in the study? Many of the activities in the interactive whiteboard classrooms used the student-centered approach. It makes sense that student center approach would be an effective way for students to learn the material as it motivates students to engage and be productive in the classroom. What additional information would you like to know about IWBs? I would like to learn more about the software used with interactive whiteboards and I would like to know more about the effectiveness of interactive whiteboards at a college and university level.
Classmates Post:
After reading the study I think it is a logical examination. I believe that teachers who are using the whiteboards in their classroom have students who are engaged more. An interactive white board is more engaging then a regular whiteboard. I believe students are becoming so used to the interactive white boards that if a teacher doesn’t use them or if there isn’t on in the classroom the students find it strange. From my own experience of using one in the classroom, my students love to go up to the board and use it. They are more willing to come up and show their work to a problem because they just want to write on the board; especially if we are using the board for a review or a game. They want to come up to the board and be apart of the activity and that is had to do with high school student.
The whiteboard activities that were used in this study were very familiar to me, because I use many of them in my own classroom. The interactive white board is much more than just a regular white board that some teachers believe it is. There are some subjects that can use the boards for many engaging activities but some teachers just don’t know how/don’t want to use it for those engaging activities.
One question that I have is how can you use the board as a whole class activity that can keep high school levels engaged. Many times if the student is not the one at the board doing the activity then they lose interest.
Response to Classmates post
You had stated that the interactive whiteboard is more engaging than a regular one I am wondering how does writing on the standard whiteboard different from writing on an interactive one?
I think you brought up a good point about how some teachers don’t know how to use and some do not want to use the interactive whiteboards for these engaging activities. I would think that these teachers might not have time to do the proper research into which applications to use. It can also be due to the nature of the course and not having the time to incorporate interactive whiteboards into the lessons. Perhaps that when the teachers tried using an interactive whiteboard it lead to technical issues that teachers do not want to deal with. Some teachers would prefer teaching in the teacher centered approach.
As to your query on class activities I am sure you could do a group activity with the interactive whiteboard to keep the students engaged and learning. In EDT512 we learned how to make instructional games which you might be able to include for your class or have the students collectively make a game using https://scratch.mit.edu/ since scratch gives the students basic problem solving skills.
