Education Week published this article by journalist Mary Catherine O'Connor, Teachers Hold the Real Keys to Whiteboard Effectiveness. I am sharing the article because it offers three examples of how teachers are effectively using their interactive whiteboard (IWB) at various levels of instruction. Teachers are always asked to provide a "model" to support their learning target in a lesson. This article provides models for effectively using an IWB for teachers and the author keeps it simple.
reinforcing lessons animating learning assessing archives
It isn't so much about the board, it's what the teacher does with the board. The article quotes Patrick Ledesma, the current teacher-ambassador fellow for the U.S. Department of Education. "Once interactive whiteboards have been installed, teachers will do what they’ve always done, unless there is training or support to do things differently,” he said.
Training on a new tool like an IWB is more than just learning how to change the color of the pen or access images to support a lesson. In my opinion, it must focus on the "I" in IWB, which for some teachers is a radical departure from current practice. Getting teachers comfortable with the "I" has been a focus of all my IWB training and I am pleased when administrators notice a difference in instruction after teachers participate in training and coaching. Recently, I received this feedback from Assistant Principal.
It is my belief that your work with some of my “freshmen” teachers really
made the difference in turning a lack luster lesson into a lesson that was
interesting, as well as, motivating for their students. Having the added feature
of Smart technology and watching as students interacted with technology
to learn and create led to satisfactory lessons...
In addition, one thing I also noticed was the level of confidence the teachers
had in delivering their lessons.
As a technology consultant, providing teachers with the confidence to develop an interactive lesson is the end goal of training. These teachers changed the way they instructed by adding the "I" factor. Teachers are they key to effective use of the IWB but I want to mention the importance of administrator support for the teacher training. I'm taking this opportunity to recognize the forwarding thinking administrators who have supported teachers in their quest to engage students with active learning via the interactive white board. Without their commitment and support, training would not have taken place.
- Paul, Ling Ling, Maribelle, Grace, Rosarie, Tom, Yvonne, and Avon
