Ahmad+Abuakar

= = =** W elcome to the W onderful W orld of****WHITEBOARDS! (that's some alliteration for all you English teachers :) ** =

=MY OBJECTIVES =

I chose to highlight interactive whiteboards (IWBs or simply 'whiteboards') because of all the emerging technologies on the market today, the whiteboard is the one technology that I will most realistically use in my classroom in the next few years. Even though my school is under-funded and under-resourced, we have gotten a few whiteboards to use in our school. I want to be ready to use one once I get regular access to a whiteboard in my classroom.
 *  Why did you choose this topic? **

What are your goals for your Wiki about this technology? I want this Wiki to be a source of knowledge for new whiteboard users. As someone who has very limited exposure to the technology, I want someone with my experience to be able to understand what a whiteboard is, what features it provides, and how to use the whiteboard in a classroom.

What do you hope for viewers to know and understand about this technology? I hope that my Wiki can provide valuable information to new whiteboard users. I want viewers to be familiar with all of the whiteboard's features, as well as how to use a whiteboard in the classroom and how to upload lessons onto the whiteboard.

How does this Wiki relate to your profession now and your professional goals? This Wiki about whiteboards is directly related to my professional goals for many reasons. As a first-year teacher, I'm still learning different ways on how to incorporate technology into my lessons and classroom. Whiteboards are quickly becoming the most popular way of utilizing technology in an educational environment.

=WHAT IS AN INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD? =

An interactive whiteboard consists of three parts.
 * Interactive Board **

The interactive board, or display, shows what is on the computer screen. The board is either mounted on a wall or atop a floor stand.

**Projector** The display is connected to a computer via a projector. The projector projects what is on the laptop onto the board.

**Pen Devices**

The pen devices allows users to interact with the display and control the computer from the board. =UNIQUENESS =  **What is unique about this technology?** As a new medium of delivering educational content has emerged, the opportunities that interactive whiteboards create in the classroom are endless. IWBs are able to transcend subject limitations, as nearly nearly every subject can benefit from teaching lessons on a whiteboard. Information can be presented to students in different ways and methods. I believe this is especially beneficial because whiteboards allows teachers to provide instruction in a variety of different modalities, thus appealing to more learning styles and increasing student engagement. Aside from having your computer screen projected onto the board, you can have students interact with the computer screen in real-time, providing them with a learning opportunity that does not exist without an interactive whiteboard. The interactivity of the screen supplements, or even supplants, the traditional whiteboard, where information can only be presented in "2-D".

 You can use an interactive whiteboard to... ** present information in Microsoft Office programs... **



** have students brainstorm and construct a concept map together... **



** have students play an educational game... **



=APPLICATION IN TODAY'S DIGITAL WORLD =

How does it work for today's learners (e.g. the Milennials, digital natives)? It is well-known that in today's digital age, kids are exposed to more technology than ever before. In fact, many kids rely on technology as their primary source of information and entertainment. While technology has been playing a larger role in classroom instruction, there is still a disconnect between technology and education. I feel that educators, particularly those who are traditional and stagnant with their instruction, have been reluctant to embrace the reality that students are learning differently now than they were 15 years ago. However, a shift is slowly being made to an increasingly technological curriculum and interactive whiteboards could be a great solution to appealing to today's learners.

IWBs allow teachers the ability to pre-plan lessons while also providing students with an opportunity to be hands-on with activities. With the increase of technology use among kids, students are accustomed to doing things themselves and hands-on. I strongly believe that IWBs allow students to utilize their hands-on preference, while still giving the teacher control over instruction.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; text-align: center;">The following video illustrates how the teacher and students can collaborate on an IWB during a lesson... media type="youtube" key="SSLKGQEeags" height="385" width="640" align="center"

=<span style="background-color: #14c214; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">SUCCESS STORIES =

After following IWBs over the past year through research and first-hand experience, I believe that Interactive whiteboards produce a profound impact on student learning. This is a sentiment that is echoed across thousands of schools who utilize IWBs in their classrooms. However, it's important to note that IWBs and their success stories are not relegated only to "wealthy" schools. For example, Jennings School District in Missouri is considered at-risk because of their low-income student population. Typically, at-risk schools perform lower on state standardized tests. However, the district still saw an increase in test scores and the superintendent identifies the use of SMART Boards in the classrooms as a major reason why scores went up.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> The following is a video case study of Jennings School District. media type="youtube" key="Zvmr7kB5iPA" height="461" width="576"

Hall Memorial School in Willington, CT has also seen a drastic improvement in learning at their school. Willington is a small rural school that is not expected to be very high-tech. However, they have a SMART Board in every classroom and results show the progress they have made because they infused technology in their classrooms.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Hall Memorial School explains the importance of SMART Boards in this video. media type="youtube" key="6KQoRivvfFI" height="480" width="593"

=<span style="background-color: #14c214; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">**CONCERNS** =

With all the accolades and positive press that interactive whiteboards receive, there are still a number of drawbacks to this emerging technology.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Training and Support One of the most frequent issues with interactive whiteboards that is common among educators and students is the need for adequate training and support. While the concept of an IWB is appealing and can generate enthusiasm, this quickly dies down if the users don't receive the proper training.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Planning Users need to be able to not only know how to use the whiteboard, but also need to be aware of all its features and benefits. This requires a lot of training and planning, especially by the teacher. If the teacher does not fully utilize the IWB, then it becomes a glorified overhead projector.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Reverse Effectiveness While it seems that only positive things would come out of having an interactive whiteboard in a classroom, there are instances where it can actually be detrimental to the students' learning. For example, a teacher who is not fully versed in the IWB's features may become content with using it for the sake of using it. Oftentimes, teachers equate technology with effectiveness; if they are using technology in their lesson, then it must be effective. Having this mentality can be damaging because then the teacher is displacing actual learning with technology use, thus defeating the purpose.

=<span style="background-color: #14c214; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS RESOURCES =

www.prometheanplanet.com @http://twitter.com/planet_tweets www.smarttech.com @http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/ed+Resource/ @http://www.internet4classrooms.com/smart_board.htm @http://smartboards.typepad.com/smartboard/smart-board-websites/ @http://www.scholastic.com/interactivewhiteboards/

=<span style="background-color: #14c214; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">RESOURCES =

Interactive whiteboard. (2010, January 25). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved February 3, 2010, from []

Promethean Ltd. (2010, March 8). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from []

Abuakar, A. (2010, March 10). eno by PolyVision [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSLKGQEeags&feature=pyv&ad=2683169665

SMART Technologies. (2010, March 9). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from []

Smith, H., Higgins, S., Wall, K., & Miller, J. (2005) Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Bandwagon? A Critical Review of the Literature. //Journal of Computer Assisted Learning//, 21, 91-101.

Abuakar, A. (2010,April 1). Video case study: Jennings School District [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvmr7kB5iPA.

Abuakar, A. (2010, April 1). Video case study: Hall Memorial School [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KQoRivvfFI.