What
really is a smart board? Why did they give it such a name? What is meant by the
term “smart”? These are questions that cross my mind when someone mentions a
smart board. During elementary and middle school all we had in math class was a
chalkboard that later on was replaced by a white board. It was not until high
school that smart boards were coming into the classroom and teachers were
beginning to use it. At first, I thought it was a replacement for a projector.
However, once the teacher began using it daily I understood what purpose it
served. For one, I think that smart boards save valuable lesson time,
especially in math class, because teachers do not have to write notes on the
board, necessarily, and can use that time using the smart board. It is an
alternative way to giving notes, for example, because we can just have the
notes already up on the projector for students when they walk into class. It
also serves as an interactive way of learning for the students. As teachers, I
think that we have to give students more of an opportunity to explain their
reasoning and understanding rather than giving them all of the information. One
way for this to happen is to have students come up and use the smart board to
show their peers their method of doing a particular problem.
However,
are smart boards really that effective? Are students engaging more today with
the smart boards then they did ten years ago with the chalkboard or white
board? As Michael Staton says in an article titled “Why Smartboards are a Dumb
Initiative”, “They [smartboards] are just the least cost-effective way to
improve learning” (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-smartboards-are-dumb-initiative.html).
He also points out that teachers believe it is the only way to save time from
writing notes on the board. However, you can do this in numerous ways that do
not include a smart board. He mentions they can use a projector, screen shot
something, or use Microsoft OneNote. He does not mention any information on
whether students were engaged more with the smart boards or with regular
chalkboard/white board. However, after reading his argument he raises some good
points that I wish to explore and gather more information about.
I agree with you in the aspect that if a smart board is used for students to come up and show the class their work, just as they would on a normal chalkboard or whiteboard, there is nothing “smart” about it. However, the implementation of smart boards was not to replace that of the traditional board, but to use as a technological tool in conjunction with computer software to allow a more interactive learning environment. When substituting for an aid in an IEP classroom, the smart board was used with a multiplication game, which allowed students to come up and use the Smart Pen to pick the right multiple for this game. When students had trouble, they were able to ask for clues from their classmates. I believe this was the main intent for the push in Smart boards. In an advanced mathematics classroom the smart board can be used to display, rotate zoom in and out on a three dimensional figure with the use of the stylus. Here students can visually see from each side’s perspective of the x, y, and z-axis. In my opinion, if used as an interactive tool the smart board can promote a more interactive learning than that of a black/white board.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your first statements and not so much with your last statements. I do believe that a smart board is very effective if used for the right lessons. Like the whiteboard or chalkboard, it should not be used for everything. A class should have multiple activities for students to learn that just does not rely on the smart board. For every activity, there is a different way to conduct it. For example, a teacher would not use the smart board if the students were doing group activities among themselves. The smart board is good, but it just has to be used in the right way for the right lessons and not for everything.
ReplyDeleteAntonietta, although that I agree with you that it is very important for students to explain their logic and reasoning by coming up and showing their work, I always have wondered how useful smartboards really are. I have had smartboards use in my high school classes numerous times, and to me it honestly just always seemed like a more fancy version of a whiteboard. I don't really how it is as useful as many people claim it to be. I think that it is basically just a combined version of a projector and a whiteboard, which is great, but I am not too sure about whether or not it really improves learning all that much.
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