I am now in my third year with my SMARTboard Interactive Whiteboard, and I am always looking for and innovative ways of enhancing my instruction for my students. With each new version of software or incorporation new features, I like to 'play' with it to see what I can do with it. This also helps me when I teach professional development classes within my district. I love my board, but I know it still has its technical limitations. One of the limitations is that only one person or one thing may provide physical input on the board at once. While this reinforces waiting ones turn, it limits the potential for more than one 'user' to participate in the learning experience at the same time. Over the last nearly three yars, it is something that I have simply learned to deal with, and it has become less of an issue than I had originally thought. Having said that, I was browing a collaborative forum for SMART Educators, and I saw "The SMART Table". While I don't necessarily see this particular technology being used in my classroom, the potential for multiple input interactive whiteboards would be.. well, it would be very cool.
I wonder what is next? Check out the movie for more info on the SMART Table.
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Adam, I have a bit of a different take on Smartboards, because of what I was doing back when I was a classroom teacher. To me, the worst of the Smartboard infusion is that it is returning too many of us to that "sage on a stage" approach to teaching, instead of looking for collaboration and cooperative learning strategies where applicable. At its best, it is useful as a tool for bringing everyone together into the same "place," but at its worst, it is a return to the teacher-as-dispenser-of-knowledge, and moves us away from empowering students in their own learning. I'm very cautious about them. I enjoy watching what you do with them, I think that if anyone is going to use this for its best potentials, you'd be one of them!
That is very interesting. To be honest I never thought of that before, but after reading what you have written I certainly can see that happening. Think of the distant cousin to SMARTboard, the overhead projector. It was being used by the teacher as a presentation tool. Students were afforded little to no opportunity to 'touch' it.
I will be honest. When I first recieved my board, I was out the very next day visiting a school to see how they were using their boards. I told my students "Don't touch this board while I am gone." After seeing students using the board at the school we had visited, I returned and told them "Remember what I said about touching the board? Forget it!" I try to make sure that my students know that it is OUR board and we ALL use it. I truly believe that once the "Wow" factor has disappeared (and it is starting to lose its lustre as it isn't a novelty anymore) it really becomes an effective teaching tool. As you said, the power is in the hands of the teacher. It is way too easy to simply become the 'sage on a stage' as you said. (I love that btw). so how do we change the thinking? Just because you use a board doesn't mean that you are a 'progressive teacher' (see my blog article "New Paint Job on the Old Dodge for more on that." Frank you are a deep thinker not afraid to challenge what is being done to find a better direction. This surely isnt the easy way out. I'd love to change the "look at me" mentality to "look at what my students can do." That is true empowerment.
I guess a lot of what I do lately is to look through the technology and try to see the better teaching underneath. I try to "push the branches out of the way" when it comes to tech tools, and see how/what changes underneath. We can all see the better approaches when faced with them. I guess I just believe that the tools are only as good as the carpenters. I'm hoping you keep pushing the envelope, there aren't enough people (yet) in Herricks/the whole teaching profession, trying to do that, and I think you're one of the people who will improve the way we educate. The tools we explore along the way will make that happen, but only when really good teachers are using them.
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