An interactive White Board (IWB) or SMART Board has the potential to deliver content better than traditional methods of teaching. Why? Because it provides multi-media functional interaction across audio, video, and computer media. It is also ideal for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.
These qualities of an IWB also promote the dynamic delivery of content (if used to its full potential) in an engaging manner, which allows students to interact with science or math content their self. Examples include:
- data manipulation
- responding to data
- even creating data
So with all these attributes –
“How are interactive white boards unsuccessfully used in science and math classrooms?” For the most part – not effectively!
Ineffective Uses of IWBs
The following are examples of how interactive white boards are not used effectively in many science and math classrooms.
- Teacher Centered Instruction – common for teachers whose primary method of delivery is through lecture. Also, this is often a result of inadequate professional development.
- Videos and Images – an IWB is used as a replacement for a pull down projector screen to show videos.
- Web Connectivity – failure to use the connectivity of an IWB with the Internet to its fullest potential or not linking to the web at all.
- Canned Lessons – using canned lessons and activities provided by IWB producers and other sources which have simply converted traditional rote memorization lessons into IWB lessons.
Effective Uses of IWBs
The primary purpose of interactive white boards is – Interactivity between teachers and students with content!
The following are the six most common manipulations used for securing interactivity:
- Drag and Drop – where an on-screen item is moved for purposes of classification, processing, comparing items, ordering terms, testing hypotheses etc. These actions often cause other actions or expect further action or comments from students.
- Hide and Reveal – hiding and then opening a response once a student has understood an idea. This allows the scaffolding of ideas so conceptual understanding takes place.
- Movement or Animation – used to demonstrate principles and illustrate concept explanations using digital videos or images.
- Color, Shading and Highlighting – used for emphasizing similarities and differences, enhancing explanations, and allowing reinforcement through greater emphasis.
- Matching Items – examples include equivalent fractions, a straight line with its graph, an equation with its solution, chemical properties, physical properties, life cycles, and many more.
- Immediate Feedback – for teacher or student as consequence of one of the other five manipulations or assessment using Clickers.
More Professional Development: Solution to the Problem
Most teachers lack adequate professional development on how to create and find quality interactive lessons, along with how to integrate the technology effectively into classroom instruction. This is the huge contributing factor as to why IWBs or SMART Boards are used ineffectively in many classrooms.
Simply installing interactive white boards and saying use them is not the answer. Adequate professional development must be included with the installation. This is the primary reason why so many teachers become frustrated with the technology and are using them ineffectively in classrooms.
A self-assessment of IWB skills can provide teachers, professional development trainers, and administrators with the targeted goals for improving the interactivity of interactive white boards in the classrooms.
Tags: effective use of iwb, effective use of smartboards, inadequate professional development for teachers, interactive white boards, interactive white boards in science classes, professional development for teachers, tips and tricks for using smart boards, using an iwb in math classes
July 28th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Great post! I think too many schools adopt Smartboards because they can without giving enough thought to how they’ll be used and how to make interactive whiteboards truly interactive and not just another way to lecture.
Thanks for the resource!
July 28th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
I couldn’t agree more with the need for PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (and that is
different from “training!”)
I am a SMART Education Consultant in Virginia and I never cease to be amazed by how
few people have ever even opened the Notebook software! However, people are always
excited by the possibilities once they learn how to use the tools. I am spending a lot of time sharing resources and spreading the word. As a matter of fact, our second annual conference is next wek and over 500 teachers are meeting to collaborate on all things SMART! (www.VirginiaGOALS.com)
I appreciate reading your insights!
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:58 am
Colette,
I always found professional develop for the proper integration of technology tools to be lacking in most school districts.
School districts need to change their ways, because technology integration is not as easy as purchasing new textbooks for a science or math classroom.
Tami,
I agree and it begins with the mindset of the school administrators who are still stuck in the business as usual mode.
August 3rd, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Good info David,
It also seems that most IWB deployments have lofty goals of delivering interactive content that covers state standards. Handing it to teachers does not releive the district administration from their responsibility of making sure this content is taught.
Professional Development is the biggest part of the answer, assessment of the IWB content usage is almost as important. Teaching, even PD requires assessment, and all IWB software needs to report to administration when and where each lesson is being delivered and to which students.
Measurables and accountability can be automated with software and it is time for the IWB companies to step up this side of their software.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:50 am
David,
Great ideas. In addition to professional development, I would add that even when teachers are armed with the knowledge of how to create thought-provoking, interactive lessons, doing so sometimes requires more time then a teacher has available. I definitely use the summer to get some of that work done, but it is still difficult.
Thanks for the post.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Your article is wonderful. You have outlined the key points of effective and ineffective uses of the interactive whiteboard perfectly! I have done “trainings” as well as “professional development” classes, and I find that the trainings are nothing but a tour of the board, while the professional development classes that I offer really get involved with the function of the board in terms of classroom participation, recognizing teachable moments and full integration of the board as a vehicle to deliver the teacher’s message while providing an interactive and engaging atmosphere.
The board is just the hardware, the teacher provides the content. I show the teachers how to create the content as well as find resources to build lesson activities that are both curriculum-based and truly ‘interactive.’
Thank you for a great article, and for confirming my theory and mission.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:47 am
Kristine,
Thank you and you are right - this is a classroom tool and professional development should be focused on the best practices for teaching with this tool. Just like a college course I took a long time ago - how to teach with an overhead projector (the technology of its day).