In a previous post I talked about a video I had watched from you tube titled, “Interactive Whiteboards” which discusses both the positives and negatives of using interactive whiteboards (IWB’s) and also lists some important benefits of using them in classrooms. I have now just read an article on the same topic but this time the focus was on what the student’s perceptions about IWB’s being used for teaching and learning was.
The article is titled, “Student’s perceptions of IWBs as a teaching and learning medium” and was written by Debbie Erikson and Wendy Grant. The article shows the perceptions of students in year 5 and 7 on IWB’s and I found very interesting as a follow up read after having watched the video.
From the study, figures showed that overall the majortiy of students from year 5 and 7 responded positively to IWB’s. Some students said they felt it added a sense of fun and interest to the learning activity at hand. On the other hand a small number of year 7 students said they did not like the use of IWB’s as they felt it was to costly and that the risk of technical problems occuring took away from the actual learning being carried out. Overall it was noted by a large amount of students in both year 5 and 7 that a lot of teachers using the tool lacked the skill and understanding of how to use the whiteboards correctly.
Overall it appears that the IWB’s when used in a skillful manner can offer a fun and interesting learning tool for all students but the need and importance of continuing professional development is highlighted.
Erikson, D & Grant, W. (2007). Student Perceptions of IWBs as a teaching and learning medium. Australian Educational Computing 22(2).
The video above on “Interactive Whiteboards” proved very informative as I found myself unfamiliar with the idea of how such a technological tool could be implemented into a classroom. The video discusses both the positives and negatives to interactive whiteboards which is important to hear as this tells the viewer that it is therefore unbiased.
Some interesting research which was shown was that overall, interactive whiteboards targeted and improved:
Ø Pace of lessons,
Ø Student Engagement,
Ø Student Motivation, and
Ø Teacher preparation.
I was also amazed to learn that almost half of England’s schools where equipped with interactive whiteboards. I found this amazing and felt in a way very old and out dated as the idea of these technologic tools seemed very advanced and modern. Teachers are highly creative and have the ability to create materials to collaborate and share with students and with the use of the board they can go beyond the text book which has proven to be a lot more engaging for students.
Even though the video also gives a few bad points about the use of interactive whiteboards, I believe that once again it comes down to the user/teacher and they have the power to either use this piece of technology to their advantage, thus creating an enhanced learning environment for their students. Yet on the other hand if this tool is used improperly and without preparation then it can be said to be a waste. What I mainly like about this tool is the engagement gained by students. After the countless articles and research been done, it is transparent that students learn better from interactivity which makes this tool highly useful and appropriate to be added to the classroom.
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