Critiques of Smartboards
I do not agree with Michael Staton's Why Smartboards are a Dumb Initiative. When I observed last semester the teacher I was observing had a Smartboard that she used multiple times a day. When she taught lessons on the Smartboard her students were able to interact with the lesson. For example, when the students were learning money she had a program that allowed the students to drag money on the board to create different ways to make up a certain amount of money. The students loved it. Students today love technology and allowing them to use and learn with technology in the classroom really gets their attention. Also, I do not think that his argument that Smartboards do not make lesson plan any easily or lighten a teachers workload should be strongly considered. I do not understand how you can expect teachers to do less work while students learn more. It is hard for me to understand where he is coming from when he has never had a Smartboard in his classroom.
As much as I love Smartboards, I do not believe that they make education better. I believe they it is a tool for teachers to take advantage of with programs and activities that help to teach. I understand how a Smartboard can be just an expensive whiteboard; however, if a teacher wants, then he or she can make a lesson more intriguing and interactive for the students. Teachers should be trained on use to use Smartboards. In Bill Ferriter's blog Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards he said something that really bothered me. He said "Sure, my students thought it was nifty, but it didn’t make teaching my required curriculum any easier". The students obviously liked the Smartboard, but he sounds to me that he does not see the need in Smartboards because he did not make his job any easier. Is it supposed to? I have never heard a teacher say that the Smartboard is supposed to make their job easier. It is supposed to engage and help teach the students in a new way.
James Tubbs about Smartboards I think describes the purpose of the Smartboard very well. In his blog ,How the Smartboard Has Changed My Teaching, he said "...That's the purpose of the Smartboard--it gets kids out of their seats to manipulate the objects on the screen". It allows students to interact and take more of an interest in what they are learning. I really enjoyed reading about how he used his Smartboard to change the way that he taught. His blog is http://misterteacher.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-smartboard-has-changed-my-teaching.html.
Links to the respective blogs would be helpful.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted that you sought out a counter argument to the assigned posts.
Re SMARTBOARDS. Personally, I would rather see the money spent to put technology tools in the hands of students (a la the iSchool). But since we have smartboards in Baldwin and Mobiles schools we should learn how teachers and students can use them effectively to further learning.