Interactive white boards (IWB) are
just another upgrade in the school system. In 1928 stores started to create ink
for pens instead of making ink at home, this was a big controversy and teachers
spoke out about it saying that it when students ran out of ink they wouldn’t be
able to write till they went to the settlement again. Today we have just a
modernized controversy with IWB being used in schools. Teachers can easily say
that activities done on the IWB can only be used at schools and art accessible
at home. I think that the IWB have many pros and I can see why schools install them in their classrooms but personally I think the cons overweight them. Schools are paying thousands of dollars on one piece of technology that can only be used in the classroom. Also many teachers don’t know how to work the IWB effectively and engage all the students. A third con is that students today are into what is new and next and get bored with things so quickly. With internet becoming more of a community of learners why don’t school districts spend money on more individual computers for all students so each student can work on their own computer and connect to online networks full of learners just like them. Teachers also know how to use personal computers more and can share documents and other free online information easier to all students and they can connect at home and on their own to what they are learning in class. We are investing thousands of dollars into something students will get tired of and stop paying attention to. In the article “Some educators question if whiteboards, other high-tech tools raise achievement” a professor stated that even with a presentation on the IWB students still fell asleep and didn’t pay attention. Through studies expressed in the article the studies about whether or not the IWB really has an effect on student achievement are very mixed and don’t really seem to have a conclusion.
Even with all the cons the IWB is
an effective way of using differentiation in the classroom. The board allows
many ways to express lessons through visual, auditory and tactile learning. The
board has different programs all using different teaching techniques. Through presentations,
similar to a power point, teachers can engage the students by having hands on
lessons involving touching the board and moving icons and they can engage
auditory learners and tactile learners by having a lecture behind the visuals and
have printed worksheets that follow a presentation. The board also allows all
students to participate in the class and keep their attention.
Although the IWB is designed to
keep attention and be “cool” kids always want what’s next and will get bored
with seeing the same thing every day. With a personal computer for
I like how you balanced out the pros and cons over IWB's in the classroom. Also, your idea of personal computers, for EVERY student seems costly, but I do see that it can improve and be a constantly changing technology tool in the classroom and can also benefit those at home who cannot afford computers.
ReplyDeleteI agree there are lots of pros and cons to the IWB and using in the classroom. I agree that if you allow students to use a personal compute in class it would benefit, however that too has its cons.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is many sides to these boards. And how teachers use them is a big one. Students like hands on work and interactive learning. Without that the lessons become boring and the teacher starts to lose his or her students. And lastly, they're really just another expense to the school system that should be used for other things.
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