Introduction to Interactive White Boards

After reading the first chapter about interactive whiteboards, I now have a better understanding of the purpose of IWBs, the multiple ways they can be effectively utilized in the classroom, and the positive benefits they can provide. Before, I only had a limited understanding of how IWBs could be used and how they could be beneficial. Now I know that IWBs can be a key way to facilitate students' interaction and engagement with the course material and with their peers in the classroom. I now also know that there are many strategies when using IWBs that can have positive effects for students, which includes providing feedback activated by touch, using pictures and video, dragging and dropping information, and so on. Some of the educational benefits of using IWBs that I am now aware of include active learning, classroom management, lesson organization, and so on. I also appreciated reading a little bit about the different websites that provide resources and information when using IWBs, such as Promethean Planet. During the chapter, I also learned about the importance of using IWBs in addition to sound classroom practices in order for students to reap the educational benefits of the technology.If you are not implementing effective teaching strategies, then utilizing IWBs will not be beneficial to students. Therefore, it is important to implement sound, research-based teaching strategies and classroom practices, as well as having ongoing training in how to best utilize IWBs in the classroom. It was also helpful to read about some of the research that has been done regarding the use of IWBs, particularly which features have been linked to student achievement like student response systems, graphics and videos, and reinforcer properties. This was helpful to know when thinking about which features to emphasize and utilize the most when using IWBs with the students in my future classroom.

Midpoint Check-In

First of all, I cannot believe that this semester and this course are halfway over. I feel that I have learned a lot about technology in a short amount of time. At the beginning of the semester, I was not looking forward to working extensively with a Mac because I have always been a PC user. However, it has not been too challenging and I am glad that I have become more familiar with using a Mac. As far as my course expectations, a lot of them have already been met. I wanted to learn about ways to use technology to connect with children and families in my future classroom to help cultivate a sense of community. Thus far, I have learned creating a classroom blog will be a great way to do just that. Also, I wanted to find ways to integrate technology and strategies to make it developmentally appropriate to use with the children in my future classroom. I feel that most of what I have learned so far can be taken and applied to the children I will be working with (the IBA activity, for example). I hope to continue to learn ways to integrate technology into my future classroom, and I am looking forward to learning about the use of interactive white boards.