The Interactive Whiteboard - Week 2

This weeks ICT workshop focused on the use of the Interactive Whiteboard in the classroom. With modern technology continually becoming easier to use and more reliable than ever, it is no wonder that more and more schools are placing this wonderful resource into each of their classrooms. Less than 20 years ago no one had even heard of an Interactive Whiteboard and the majority of classrooms still relied on the old fashioned blackboards and chalk. 

Now, with access to videos, interactive games and the whole of the internet just a click away, there are endless opportunities for multi-sensory and engaging lessons. The video below shows just a glimpse into some of the exciting possibilities of using an IWB.

   

Benefits of IWBs

As you can see from the video, having an Interactive Whiteboard in the classroom means that teachers can use their creativity to come up with extremely exciting and gripping new ways of delivering lessons. However, as I discovered in the workshop, this concept of 'Edutainment' is only one of the many benefits that the use of IWB in classrooms can provide. Other Benefits include:

• Developing Children's ICT skills
• Providing programs to help those with an SEN
• Providing exciting opportunities for EAL children to engage with the lessons
• Develops thinking/discussion skills
• Develops literacy skills such as reading, writing and spelling

These are but a few of the many ways IWBs can really engage with those who may have struggled in a time before IWBs could provide such a multisensory experience. As the workshop went on I really began to think about the different ways in which children learn and how the IWBs easily allows teachers to include a variety of teaching methods (such as visual, auditory & kineasthetic) into a single activity and how useful this will be when planning high quality lessons. 

Considerations

While there are many benefits to using an IWB in your classroom, there are also many factors that must be taken into consideration when thinking about the use of this amazing resource. It is definitely worth considering issues such as where the board is placed and how height the board should be. I have been in a number of classrooms where children have to climb dangerous contraptions just to be able to reach the board, causing a number of health and safety risks. Placement is important too. Too often there are classrooms where a number of tables have an obscured view of the board, limiting it's potential; or where light from the window causes glare and makes the board almost impossible to see. Finally, it is also important to consider that work on the IWB should have good sized font, and backgrounds that do not affect those with visual impairments such as dyslexia.

A Few Ideas

The second half of our workshop was spent focusing on some of the many ways in which the SMART notebook software could be used to deliver certain aspects of lessons. We were devided into groups and given a particular effect to work on. We were to play around with the features of smart notebook and present our tehnique back to the class.   

Our groups was given an effect called 'The Magnifying Glass effect. This method involves the hiding of certain text (which would be useful if you wanted to hide answers to questions) which can then be revealed by the 'magic magnifying glass'. After playing around with the effect we thought of a few ways in which this might be useful during a lesson.  We came up with the idea of using this effect to hide the names of certain minibeats. We then displayed a picture of the minibeast next to the hidden answered and asked the children if they could name any of them. If they thought they could they would give their answer and use the magic magnifying glass to see if they were correct. This would make an excellent 2 minute started activity for a early KS1 class. 



 The other groups also presented some excellent ideas such as the 'Balloon Pop', 'Magic Tunnel' and 'Erase to Reveal' and many more effects, all of which would be extremely useful when preparing an interactive lesson. For more information about the many ways in which SMART notebook can be used for lessons check out this link! Or even check out this video!

In conclusion, there are thousands of ways the IWB can be used to enhance the learning experiences of our children. I am really looking forward to coming up with creative and original ideas to really capture the childrens interest. 

If anyone wants to check out some theory and statistics about the use of the IWB then this blog has some really good information on it!

As always, stay safe! Catch you soon!