Be smart about Smart Boards!

Happy Friday, fellow bloggers! I wanted to make a post about a topic that was discussed pretty early on in my technology course - interactive whiteboards. There are different kinds, but Smart Boards are probably the most popular/common. If you're unfamiliar with this topic, let me share what interactive whiteboards are.

Here is an image of a Smart Board in use - found here

This is what an interactive whiteboard looks like. It looks like an LCD projector, but you can write on the board with the pens (seen at the bottom of the board in the picture), touch the board, and do many other things on it. That's where the 'interactive' part of 'interactive whiteboard' comes from. Here's an example of a Kindergarten teacher using her Smart Board for morning meeting, to give you an example. There are several Smart Board tutorials online, if you're interested. 

What I want to talk about is some ways I might use an interactive whiteboard in my classroom, as well as what I like and dislike about them. I really like the idea of using it for morning meeting, like the video I linked you to above. I've also seen interactive whiteboards used to display books/ebooks. The Smart Board software has several interactive games across the content areas. Interactive whiteboards can be an extremely helpful tool in the classroom. There's increased motivation - students want to have the chance to come up and use the board. Also, when used correctly, lessons can be enriched through this tool. This is where I think the interactive whiteboard runs into some problems. Some teachers use them just because they're available, and the students aren't getting anything meaningful out of it. It's important to think carefully about having a real purpose for the interactive whiteboard. Another downfall is that only one person at a time can use the whiteboard. Other students may not pay attention if they're not the ones using the whiteboard. If you're going to use an interactive whiteboard, have something that the other students can do at their desk while someone is doing it on the whiteboard. For example, if someone is practicing writing a word on the board, have the rest of the class doing the same thing at their desk on paper. It's important to keep all students engaged - the interactive whiteboard alone may not be enough.

Overall, I really do like interactive whiteboards. I think that they're a nice tool to enrich content. My suggestion is the same as any other technology tool - use carefully! Don't just use it because you can. What are your thoughts on interactive whiteboards? How have you used them in your field placements/classrooms? Leave a comment and share your experiences with me.