Interactive Whiteboards (Week 2 / 31st of January 2014)

      What are Interactive Whiteboards?

 "Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) are touch-sensitive boards which allow teachers and children to engage directly with material projected on a screen from a computer via a data projector." Allen et al. (2012, p.180)

        Why do we use Interactive Whiteboards?

 Interactive Whiteboards are now very popular in schools, especially in primary classrooms. Using IWB offers flexibility and a better pace for activities carried out in the classroom. They enable teachers to prepare their lessons better (e.g. when using smart presentations the information can easily be revised with the help of back and forth buttons). Some teachers explore more the use of Interactive Whiteboards, others just use them in order to support, in an effective way, their own teaching style without changing it. A good teacher is a good teacher no matter what resources he uses, but a teacher who uses IWB is a better teacher. It is important for teachers and practitioners to have a good preparation with using Interactive Whiteboards.
 Creative teaching allows teachers to match different styles of learning:
- tactile learners get to write, touch and move things around the board;
- visual learners benefit from a clear view of what is happening on the board;
- audio learners can easily participate during the lesson. What is an Interactive Whiteboard? (2014).

 There are a few things that need to be considered when using IWB, such as:
- light;
- interactivity;
- text visibility;
- access;
- height;
- type of board used in the classroom and converting resources built for one type of board to another.

      Session Activity:

 Smart Notebook is an application used to create interactive presentations that can be projected on IWB. There is a wide variety of tools that can be used in order to prepare interactive lessons.
 A simple presentation can include basic tools, such as: shapes; pens; text; background; colours.

A background can be applied by selecting the fourth button form the left hand side
which shows the letter A. The background fill has different options: no fill, solid
fill, gradient fill, pattern fill and image fill.

Different text, shapes, pens and colours can be applied by selecting the
corresponding buttons that can be found at the top:

 There are also more complex tools that can be used with Smart Notebook application.

 Rub and Reveal is a technique used in order to reveal answers, shapes, missing words by selecting the Eraser icon and rubbing out.

For example, sentences are written with black and red coloured pen on a blue 

background. Then, with a pen using the same colour as the background,  colour the 

text you want to hide.

Use the Erase icon

to rub out the colour in order to reveal the right answer.

 The magic pen is another interactive tool that can successfully be used.  This tools gives the opportunity to learn about similarities and differences when comparing two pictures. First pictures can be inserted on the slide of the presentation by selecting the corresponding option form the menu:

 

 Afterwards the magic pen is applied by selecting the pens button and the option magic pen: 

Once the Magic pen option is applied circles can be drawn using it and that gives the possibility to move the circles on the two pictures in order to look at similarities and differences between, for example, the old and the new view of Oxford Street.

When drawing a square with the magic pen the Spotlight option is applied. This option enables us to zoom a certain area of the picture and have a better look and understanding of the specified similarities and differences. 

 There are also other complex tools which offer the opportunity to create a interactive presentation: 

- add animation to shapes;

- deconstruct images using the camera;

- maps;

- deconstruct pages using dual pages. 

  In general, therefore, it seems that Interactive Whiteboards are a successful tool that teachers and practitioners can use in schools. In the primary classroom Interactive Whiteboards can be used in order to teach across the curriculum (maths, literacy, science, art, history, geography, etc.) and not just in ICT.

      Reflections

I would personally try to use the whiteboard effectively in the classroom because it can transform our teaching and pedagogy. It enables us to draw children's attention and engagement easily. It can build confidence, motivation and self-esteem. I also believe that Smart Notebook presentations can effectively allow children to learn about things we cannot provide for them in real life (for example, in history when learning about vikings and their transport show pictures of viking ships and boats).

                 (PreKschool, 2013)

     References:

 Allen, J., Potter, J., Sharp, J. and Turvey, K. (2012) Primary ICT Knowledge, Understanding and Practice. 5th edn. London: Learning Matters/Sage.

 PreKschool (2013) Preschool Parkland FL - Interactive Whiteboard. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQF8lkPiIHU (Accessed: 19 April 2014).

 What is an Interactive Whiteboard? (2010) Available at: http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/Whatisaninteractivewhiteboard.aspx (Accessed: 19 April 2014).