To answer this, I myself had to go online to see a whiteboard in action. Our Institution does not use them, so I dont have any 'hands on experience'. From what I can see, the SmART Board allows writing to be put up and erased quickly and cleanly, images to be manipulated,larger, smaller,moved around,etc. I can see that it can make the student feel as they can contribute to the lesson, by interacting with the software, getting their ideas on the board, or by answering questions as they appear
Lance,
Yes, using the board to support work with PPT is a great combination.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
The White Board is a great tool. the use of different colors is great use to. It lets the eye be drawn to the different topics. I use a white board to help the students understand what they are seeing in a powerpoint. This helps the students visualize the systems we are disscusing and i use different color markers to write on the board are objectives every day so the students know what we are covering.
Victoria,
Great examples! Please visit the instructional forum in the faculty lounge and share some of your ideas to others there - it would be very helpful.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I agree. I use a white board to help the students understand what they are seeing in a powerpoint. This helps the visual students and then I have them get up and demonstrate what we were discussing by indentifying components of the system.
In a face-to-face setting I have engaged students in the constructing of new knowledge while applying previously learned knoweldge.
I am a visual learner and enjoy fusing art with learning. This has manifested itself in diagrams and interactive webs/charts that require students to be a part of the process. I say the information, I have other students say the information. I visualize the information, I allow students to illustrate how they are visualizing the situation. I will have students collaborate on the information etc. This helps to stimulate all different types of learning styles/intelligence.
Whiteboards lend themselves well to this as it is not only interactive, but allows for screen capture, multitasking between screens, the use of visuals and even allows for the incorporation of interactive puzzles/games.
Victoria,
Very well said - do you have specific examples of how you have used this technology with your students?
Dr. Ruth Reynard
The use of an interactive white board heightens interaction with students because they feel they are a part of the learning process, can asses their own learning and I feel it accommodates different learning styles/intelligences.
KIZHAKKEPARAMPIL,
Excellent! Thank you for sharing these examples with us - so multimedia resources can be used as well as everything stored and distributed. This enhances so many learning environments for students.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
The interactive whiteboard been in the learning field almost over a decade, and its impact is huge. Interactive learning helps the instructors to make effective lectures. In my Biology lessons, an interactive whiteboard will help me in displaying every part of the human body in the form of three dimensional images for every student in the classroom.
Biology class of explanation with pictures, animations as well as diagrammatic representations of different color combinations help of the interactive whiteboard. Pictures in color and clarity make a good perception of the subject. It is also possible to show video clippings relating to the subject of biology to the students during the classroom session.
Carl,
Great examples! The idea of community problem solving is extremely effective and develops additional transferable skills such as clear communication, collaboration, goal setting, and problem solving as well as the content itself. Great job!
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I read a number of the discussion points here before responding.
I am dealing with a slow process: changing how students think. We are also notorious, in the profession, for remaining silent until we have had time to think things through.
But students always learn better from one another than from me. So I have tried interactions on white (and black) boards. But I am uncertain of the success.
When my students work together on a very difficult problem, out of my sight, however, they do very well and exhibit all I hope for. This is what my infamous "midterm questions" have done.
In one course (a 3.5 week course, which was all they were taking) I traditionally gave a midterm question that required the entire class to work together on, most of that at the board, and write a technical report due in my office at 5:00pm. They took pictures of themselves and the boards, but I left them alone. The pictures were really breath-taking. Everything I would have hoped for went on, even though almost no group ever got "the answer."
It seems that a critical ingredient was my absence as they worked, although they had access to me at any time.
David,
Very true - and tthis technology provides an opportunity to capture and distribute learning moments and experiences beyond the class meeting.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
This is just one more source of information that a student can use to confirm their thinking. The more examples a person is given, the more clear the big picture of any topic becomes.
I can't imagine not having a white board when in front of the class room you need to be able to draw an image or word in front of the class many times over during any given lesson is there really a class room that does not use this I wouldn't want to teach in that room
I got my first taste of an interactive white board recently. It really got my attention and my imagination going about what I could accomplish and how much more interesting I could make my classes if I had one. WOW. The possibilities. another interactive component that would be nice would be the tablets for the students. With the tablets linked into the White board it would be another way for the students to interact directly with what was going on in class.
James,
Great! I hope you have an opportunity to have access to an interactive board soon.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
All I have in my class is a regular white board that i can use to draw pictures and alter them to help the student better understand the subject. I can see where and interactive board can can inhance this process by having the student interact with my drawings in a more relaxed method to better enhance their learning experiance.
Let's use ourselves as the example for this response. Do WE, in the process of taking this course, appreciate the immediate response to our quiz score? Yep, I can probably guarantee you are all virtually nodding. Students are the same. All of us are getting pretty used to getting on the computer and getting instant response - it's exciting. I use a pod feature in online instruction. The pod presents a multiple choice question and answer opportunity, as well as, the percentages of responses per choice for the class. I can see "groupthink" at times, when the majority of the students choose the "A" response; sometimes the students will change their answers and in the end, the majority will respond to "A". How interesting. I generally ask the students why they changed their answers - where was the doubt coming from? the majority of choices? It makes for an interesting discussion sometimes. Sometimes we will talk about groupthink; sometimes it lends to talking about personal feeling of low self efficacy. Again, very interesting.
James,
Excellent examples. Have you also captured the learning actvities you describe and distributed those to students or online for future reference?
Dr. Ruth Reynard
