The Daily Item Online Newspaper just ran an article titled “Chalkboards, Pens and Pencils Fade into History“, describing how technology is transforming education.
“Today, Jacobs said there are computers in almost every class. She also uses Smartboards in her classrooms — a touch sensitive white board that provides interactive teaching. Students and teachers don’t need to use chalkboards or computers when using the Smartboards.”
Although the article is merely a shout-out to technology use, we’d like to see a little more specific reporting on how technology such as smartboards are changing teacher-student interaction paradigm. Are we seeing actual gains from utilizing this technology or simply trying to keep from falling behind the technology curve?
I agree that much of the reporting on IWB use in schools is simply PR for IWB manufacters and nice coverage for schools wanting to promote their use of technology.
Today I posted the first in a series of articles that will discuss the complex subject of interactive whiteboards in education.
http://interactivewhiteboardinsights.blogspot.com/2010/01/interactive-content-is-key-to.html
Emily, thanks for the insight and the first part of your series looks great so far. The point everyone seems to miss is exactly what you said: “I have been shouting from the rooftops for the past five years that an interactive whiteboard is just a piece of hardware without a teacher who knows how to use it effectively and interactive content that engages students.” It’s like buying pencils for everyone before you teach them to read and write…you’re bound to lose an eye or two.