Reflection on Smart Board Lesson

Jenna Stoffel                                                                                                   Due: 10/27/14

Tech 5170- Reflection on Smart Board Lesson                                              Mr. Hladun

A dear friend once advised my husband and I to “not purchase or buy into anything we did not fully understand.” Technology is currently advancing at an astronomical rate, doubling each year. Without a doubt it is safe to say that using technology is no longer an option, it’s an essential. Claiming this, how are those involved in education effected when school districts are asked to purchase large quantities of expensive technologies they themselves do not even understand?

Pertaining to interactive whiteboards (IWB’s), or smart boards, there is much debate whether or not they are a waste of the school, and therefore the tax payers, money or not. Unfortunately, I have personally observed at as humans, many times we like to do things in extremes. Concerning IWB’s, districts feel either the need to turn their cheek and reject IWB’s all together or feel the pressure to put a smart board in every classroom thus paying millions of dollars for “technology” that may or may not be utilized properly.

After fiddling around and creating a smart board lesson of my own, I can personally empathize with the educators who do not feel as “tech savvy” as their teacher counterparts. With that being said, I do feel more comfortable and even proficient in using the tools that I focused on during my lesson. As I struggled through creating various aspects of my smart board lesson, I was building memory and gaining understanding without an overwhelming amount of stress. However, I will say that due to past experiences using new technologies and after being honest with myself about how long it usually takes me to learn a new technology, I provided myself with ample amount of time for this particular assignment.

For my lesson, I was able to time manage two to four hours a day for three days. I knew that the first day not too much lesson planning would get done instead that chuck of time was set aside for me to play around, stress free, to become more familiar with the program. As I found activities and Icons that I liked I dragged and pasted them into the slides. Eventually, I deleted or modified several, but like I said, at first this first day was a time for me to become familiar with the program, not to lesson plan. In short, how would I be able to teach from a program I didn’t know myself?

Fortunately I was able to use this lesson in real life with my students a week after it was due. The lesson had to be modified as my school does not have smart boards nor do we have ipads for the students. At the beginning of class I set up five different stations one being my laptop with the smart notebook lesson. Before we began the lesson, I had students get into groups of two’s and three’s. Then I walked each student thought each part of each station; especially the station where the smart notebook would be used. In conclusion, they students loved two stations more than the other three they were the:

1-      The conversational station where they could use food props for discussion and

2-      The smart notebook station

Would I personally desire to have a smart board in my classroom? I’m not 100% sure. Would I use it- yes I would. Would it be a daily lesson tool? Perhaps for one or two activities but surely not for the entire lesson for all five of my classes every day. Would I then be classified under a teacher who wouldn’t “utilize” the smart board technology as mentioned in the blog posted October 21, 2011? I’m not sure. Would it be better, if possible, to have a few rooms designated for IWB’s that teachers would sign out a week in advanced? Perhaps!

The other article titled, “Are Interactive White boards a Smart idea when they Make Even the most Innovative of Educators Look Dumb?” was a very opinionated and passionate article stating the “10 reason to Ditch the board.” Below I will state some valid and invalid arguments:

·         Having access to the computer keyboard and mouse so that one is able to see where you are typing and clickingà This is a personal preference. If the teacher has done the proper pre in order to teach a smart board lesson this shouldn’t be a problem.

·         When addressing a classroom it is better to look at student’s faces then have them look at your behind of sideà Whether the teacher is using a smart board or writing on a white/black board, the students will view the same thing.

·         Focus on the students, not the “sage on the stage” à I personally believe that teaching my means of direct instruction should be limited and split up. It is reasonably that every few days, there will be a complete grammar lesson where direct instruction is needed, but having the teacher use the IWB as a projector to read off of is not teaching. The students can do that themselves.

In conclusion, I believe that having access to IWB’s are a wonderful thing. I would enjoy having them in class if I were able to do so. That being said, it would not completely change the way I am teaching now, but it would add a lot to my methodology. I believe that both of these articles were very strong and almost defensive responses to what ever happened in their district. If the teacher can prove to their board/management teach/ whoever is in charge of providing these types of technologies to the school, can present it as if they were a salesman and can prove it will better their teacher and academic achievement in their class, then they should If other teachers refuse to learn or teach themselves the program, they are much better seeking other ways to improve their pedagogy.