Interactive White Boards & How They Enhance Student Achievement
- Breanna Dixon
- Oct 22, 2017
- 2 min read
Interactive White Boards are present in most classrooms these days. At least most, if not all, teachers have some type of an interactive white board. SMART Boards are the most popular type of interactive white boards and, since they are what I've had more experience with, will be focused on as I discuss how SMART Boards can enhance student achievement.
1. Interactive
Perhaps the most important pro of having a SMART Board is that they are interactive for the students. They allow students to interact with the lesson in a meaningful way versus the traditional method of using a PowerPoint presentation. The University of Washington's article about local teacher Pete Darragh cites his belief that "It is critical that all students be given tools and strategies that will help them engage in their own learning... It is critical to engage all students in all subjects. Students who are starting to disengage from learning can be reengaged with exciting lessons" ( par 1). Using SMART Board's features such as the pens, moving objects, playing learning games, etc can help teachers create lessons that are meaningful and interactive for their students.
2. Personalization
Lessons can also be personalized for the classroom and students as well. With SMART Board's ability to let you create lessons from scratch, you can create lessons and activities that make sense for the classroom as well as the students. If might take more time to create lessons, but it's easy to find resources of already-made lessons and activities and tweak them to fit how you will teach it. Activities can also be tailored to the individual learners by giving you the ability to choose how students can participate. When I created my lessons, I had to think how I wanted my students to participate during the lesson: will they use the pens to match corresponding letters to their correct sound, will they draw the correct shape, will they play a game? There's many possibilities with the SMART Board that you couldn't do with a worksheet.
3. Accountability
SMART Boards also help keep students accountable for their learning. In Valeria Strauss's article, "‘This’ will revolutionize education (and how students really learn best)," Strauss stresses that "The most important thing a teacher does is make every student feel like they are important, to make them feel accountable for doing the work of learning" (par 6). SMART Boards can help raise accountability in learning by allowing them to participate as they learn. For example, having students come fill in the blanks during a lesson on metaphors helps them participate in their learning and if they know their participation is required during lessons, not just after, they will be more motivated to keep of their learning.
In conclusion, SMART Boards help lessons become interactive and personalized for students and they also help keep students accountable for their learning. SMART Boards may not be a revolutionary tool, but they are one way that teachers can help students boost their achievement and participation levels making for a happy teacher and a happy classroom.
Resources:
Strauss, V. (2014). ‘This’ will revolutionize education (and how students really learn best. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/10/this-will-revolutionize-education-and-how-students-really-learn-best/
University of Washington. "A Smart Board in the Classroom: A Promising Practice for Engaging Students". Retrieved from http://www.washington.edu/doit/smart-board-classroom-promising-practice-engaging-students
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