ICT Current Trends

I as a student never encountered an interactive white board, through my schooling experience the only ICT I ever used were individual computers or projectors rarely. I feel that I was educated well, however I also feel that integrating interactive white boards (IWB) will be extremely beneficial for most students.

 IWBs can create a fun, captivating and structured lesson plan. When used correctly they enable a teacher to interact with their class on many more levels then an average white board or projector would allow. I think that interactive white boards would be a positive attribute to every class room however they could also be a waste of money if not being used correctly. Both Alan Lesgod and Kathryn Moyle roughly describe computers in the class room as amplifiers.  The analogy that they both imply is that computers in the classroom will either make a good teacher better, or less gifted teachers worse. I agree with this statement. I believe when the teacher knows how to teach well, involving the class, being interactive but also educational then the IWB will enhance that teachers ability to teach and educate the class, however if a teacher finds it difficult to interact with their class then the whiteboard could possibly go to waste. Another possible problem with the integration of IWB is the possibility of teachers being reluctant to using IWB's in their classroom. I believe the below video answers this question as to why some teachers may be reluctant to integrating IWB's into their classroom.

J.Gage writes,

• "An IWB helps teachers to use a wide variety of different teaching styles, benefiting all types of learners. Our brains access information through visual, auditory and kinaesthetic sensory inputs and these are all available with an IWB."(p.19)  

J.Gage goes on to explain how they are all relevant, visual learners are able to enjoy the colours and graphics, while auditory learners can learn through video and audio files and lastly kinaesthetic leaners are able to enjoy moving the items around. I think this is very true and a vast improvement on the previous pedagogies, which had trouble educating all three types of learners at one time.

J.Gage also mentions a comment made by a math teacher who had been using an IWB for two and a half years.

• "Technology redefines the position of the teacher in relation to the learning process of the student. It enables the teacher to learn with the student when the technology delivers the learning... you can help them much better if you don't spend all your time writing on the board, and if there's an awareness of the technology delivering the answer, and the student and the teacher sharing in the discovery of the answer. [This can be] very motivating for a low achieving group. Technology lets the student test a working hypothesis."(p.21)

 J.Gage then proceeds to clarify that the teacher believes that when using IWBs in a classroom the IWB becomes the expert in the classroom allowing the teacher to share his new discoveries with the class. This technique has a very positive impact on the classroom environment creating a healthy relationship between the teacher and the student. No longer is the teacher up the front defining what is wrong and right, now he is working through the problems with the class explaining when needed. Therefor I think that an IWB should be a staple in every class.

Works Cited

       Gage, Jenny. "Pedagogy." How to Use an Interactive Whiteboard Really Effectively in Your Secondary Classroom. London: David Fulton Publishers, 2006, p. 17-30

       
 Peters, Dorian. "ICT in the Classroom." Learning with Models. (1st May 2008) Accessed 21st May 2013 http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elearningresearch/2008/05/ict_in_the_classroom.html