Interactive Whiteboards

I really enjoyed learning about interactive whiteboards. I never had the opportunity to use the software so it was very helpful to be able to see how presentations can be put together and how it can be used as an interactive tool in the classroom. I think using such a tool can help to engage students in their learning and give them the opportunity to play an active role in a lesson rather than sitting in their desks listening to the teacher talk. It is unfortunate that not all schools are able to have an interactive whiteboard in every classroom. I believe Children of the Net Generation who are using technology in their home lives on a daily basis would be able to better relate subject content if they had the opportunity to take part in more interactive white board lessons.

When I have my own classroom I hope to have access to some type of interactive whiteboard. Although I don't think it should be used for every single classroom lesson, I believe incorporating an interactive whiteboard activity into a unit can help the students apply what they have learned in a very interactive way as opposed to taking a quiz or writing a reflection. Smart boards enable students to physically see and manipulate information to achieve the a desired outcome. They are in some sense teaching themselves with the teacher acting as a facilitator to guide them toward the correct result. I think this is a great way to convey a specific message within a lesson or a unit and it gives the students a higher chance of retaining the information long after the lesson is over. Every teacher who has access to such a tool should try to incorporate it into their lessons to help the students become more engaged in their learning.