Interactive Whiteboards in Today's Classroom

          Recently in my SEDU 183 class we have been learning about Interactive Whiteboards.  Personally, I don't think they make a difference one way or another when teaching in a classroom.  Every room has some sort of chalk board, white board or interactive board.  Does one really make a difference over another?  The argument could go either way.  As I stated before, I don't think it really makes a difference in learning one way or another, but I do think there are way more positives to having them than negatives and they allow for better participation from differentiated students.  The articles I have linked below both discuss the positives and negatives of having an Interactive Whiteboard and support my opinions on them as to why they are both useful and not so useful.

          The positive side of Interactive Whiteboards can be shown in an examination of the following.  They ect.  Overall it just makes learning more fun for students.  I know this from personal experience.  The only downside to Interactive Whiteboards is that they are only cool and exciting for a short time.  Eventually they just get old and students don't care anymore.  They become just like any other board.  Another setback is that there are still some bugs to work out with these boards.  Teachers need to still make the class interesting on their own or else students won't pay attention.  They also need to know how to use these boards properly.  I know when I was in class and the teacher used these boards, they usually had no idea what they were doing, or they just did not work properly for whatever reason.  There are definitely two sides to having these types of boards in a classroom.  They are more interesting than just a plain chalk board or white board.  You can do so many things on it because of the technology involved.  Technology does enhance learning because it gives the teacher access to other ways of presenting information and communicating as opposed to not having it.  Students are more likely to be engaged in the lessons because of all the cool things you can do on the board.  Some of these include changing the font color, style, layout of the page, background,

          I think these white boards would be very good for children with all different types of needs in a classroom.  You are always going to have differentiation with your students.  Incorporating their needs and making them all feel equal is very important.  It also helps you present the information in different ways.  Students have all different types of learning styles.  I believe that classroom interaction and hands on activities makes learning easier.  I know from my own personal experience that doing activities that were interactive helped me out a lot in the classroom.  It was more fun and made it easier for me to remember the information as opposed to just being lectured and learning it on my own.  These are the ideas that surround my opinion on Interactive Whiteboards in a classroom.

related articles:
Some Educators
Interactive Whiteboards