Is it really a SMART Board?
My fellow Twit (Twitter user), dannynic, drew my attention to an article about IWB effectiveness on student learning. For those of you who just went “Huh?”, an IWB is an interactive white board or SMART Board. The findings were very interesting.
The article cited a British study that found no real improvements on student achievement. However, it seemed as if this had more to do with poor teaching practices than with the equipment itself. It seems that if teachers used the IWB without much interactivity or imagination, the tool became as old and tired as a chalkboard or text book from the early 90’s.
This was the part I found most informative…
But questions remained over how much whiteboards had enhanced learning. Studies found that they did not improve poor teaching, and only well-trained teachers who had had time to experiment and become familiar with technology delivered more effective lessons. It is that mix of using technology and pedagogy - the art of teaching - that seems to be the biggest obstacle. Part of the problem, according to Tim Rudd, senior researcher at Futurelab, is that teachers have found it hard to stop controlling the learning in lessons, rather than facilitating it.
The key points were that teachers needed time to experiment and that teachers should work as facilitators, not as “the sage on the stage”.
This is what we are providing you with the eMINTS model. We used nearly half of our session on SMART Boards and Notebook to “play” with the equipment. Plus, we have done this with every other piece of software introduced in the modules. The next step is for you all to share with each other the things you have discovered while using the SMART Boards. Additionally, listen to the podcasts at PDtoGo for even more ideas as to how you can use this tool to its full potential.
As far as the second point, we have to remember that a student’s time in class is not about us. It’s about the students and their learning. I struggle with this as much as any teacher. It is really difficult to resist being the “sage” instead of “the guide on the side”. We have to work together to find creative ways to allow students to learn.
You are all doing a phenomenal job stretching your teaching to its full potential. Some of you came in knowing very little about technology, building classroom community, using constructivist pedagogy, etc., but you all keep plugging along, trying new techniques at every turn. Let’s keep this progress moving forward. Lets’ continue to find new ways to facilitate learning in our classrooms.
Sorry for the soapbox moment, but I wanted you all to know that what we’re doing is important and will have a positive effect on your teaching and, more importantly, your students’ learning.
(Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vegiemince/175400554/)
Image Conscious
As many of you begin collecting images and clip art for your classroom websites, there are a few places you can look for unique images that can really enhance the look and feel of your sites.
The first place to look is in your own classrooms. Digital photos of your classrooms and student projects can give your websites a personal touch. You may also scan student artwork. When we work with altering images, we can edit these peices to be more functional elements of your websites.
Another place to look is Wikimedia. This site comes from the same people who brought you Wikipedia, but it offers various media that are open to the public for free use. The images on Wikimedia are under the classification of “public domain”, so users can publish the images with proper credit given. The best place to search for images is in the “Commons” area.
Another great source for original images is 
. You can use Fickr in a couple of ways. First of all, you could join Flickr for free and post your own images or pictures for easy access anywhere. Another useful feature of Flickr is that you can ask the actual photgrapher if you can use his/her photos for your site. I’ve done this with some blog posts and people have been very willing to share.
(Snowmen in Moscow image courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Snowmen_moscow.jpg.)
