SmartBoards

Interactive whiteboards, or SmartBoards, are a really cool and useful addition to the classroom! I have seen them in many classrooms that I substitute in, but the students told me they rarely use them or if they do it is just to watch movies. It’s disappointing to know that teachers have such useful tools at their fingertips but never go out of their way to use them. At first I thought the SmartBoards were nothing more than a projector, much like what we have at our school. I didn’t know there is actual software to go along with it. I thought the way the social studies used them in the video would be really helpful in an English class. I remember the old way when teachers would write notes on a dry erase board and have to erase them constantly to fit new notes on the board. If you didn’t get the notes down and understand them the first time around, it was really hard for the teacher to go back. Being able to save the pages of notes as well as projecting images to go along with them makes it really easy to explain things more clearly and go back if needed. I can see it being a really successful tool especially for an inclusion classroom and is complementary to all learning styles. I really do not see a major con in using the SmartBoard unless, of course, the teacher relies entirely on it and does not implement other student-centered activities. Then again, the Smartboard can promote more student involvement by giving them a chance to contribute to the activity on the board. I hope I have the opportunity to use SmartBoards in my classroom to learn more about them and all of their possibilities.