Educational discoveries

After writing the previous blog based on smartboards, I was interested to find out what my peers had discovered about the interactive whiteboards either through experience or research. Penny wrote an interesting piece based on her research through the article Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Boondoggle? Her main conclusion was similar to what Loren discussed in her blog. The argument for smartboards is not actually whether they are useful technology, but rather if teachers are USING them effectively. I know personally that technology can be difficult to approach and I am a young student teacher who has grown up with more technological understanding than the majority of the current aging australian teaching workforce!! The provision of training and workshops can assist with the appropriate useage of smartboards in schools, but I think it would also require vigilance on the part of the teacher to constantly evolve in their use of the whiteboard so that it remains new and exciting for students and holds firmly with constructionism values.

I was checking through my fellow educational students blog postings when I came across Loren’s blog posting on her first prac experience. This particular posting was interesting to read. Firstly because I am yet to teach in a school that uses smart boards and so haven’t seen how they work, and secondly, I have heard mixed responses to this technology. Some teachers I have spoken to who have them in their classroom are of the opinion that they are just an educational ‘fad’ and do not really improve learning at all. Others (who do not have smartboards) have said they are too expensive for little benefit and so other resources should be purchased instead. I was pleased to hear Loren’s enthusiasm in regards to this technology and in particular the professional training and support being given to the teachers so that they can effectively use them in the classroom. I still haven’t even seen a smartboard and so am now even more intrigued as to how they can be used to integrate technology with all KLA’s.