Interactive White Boards

White boards are a new instrument in my teaching.  Through the exploration of the book, Engaging Learners with Interactive Whiteboards by Blanche O'Bannon, I have realized that "Interactive whiteboards have great potential as a tool to enhance pedagogical practices".  I can see first hand the potential to really get the children up from their tables or desk and involved in experiences rather than static sitting and listening in my internship in a kindergarten classroom.

I myself have needed hands on teacher training to use the whiteboard in my classroom.  My mentor teacher uses it fluidly and the children are experts at knowing the potential of the the whiteboards capabilities.  I picked up a few cues from watching her demonstrate the features of the SMART board, but as stated by the author, continued professional development, including webinars and sharing with peers about tips or tricks they have used in their classrooms.  As a teacher, using peer resources can sometimes be the best professional development to learn about how teachers choose to use technology or even be able to step into their classroom to see the teacher using the whiteboard with the children present to see new engaging ideas and get inspiration.  I can completely see if that if a teacher was only taught to use the interactive white board in certain ways and certain times then the "technical proficiency" for anything more than a projector.

I was surprised to learn about using student response systems in classrooms.  My focus is on early childhood education and I have only been exposed to student response systems in my college classes.  I had never even considered student response systems in a primary or secondary classrooms.  The evidence does exist that confirms the gains of children in classrooms that include this technology.

Technology definitely has it's place in the current classroom and even more so in future classrooms, but teachers need to be equipped with the tools to get the most use out of the technology at their fingertips.