Interactive White Boards

Before this class I had heard of Smartboards but never fully knew what they were capable of. Furthermore I hadn't realized that Smartboard - like Scotch tape, Xerox copy and Saran wrap - has cornered the market so much that the terms smartboard and interactive white board are used interchangeably.

Having seen the interactive whiteboard demonstration, and seen what "Smartboard" can do, I couldn't help but feel excited and overwhelmed and the same time. There's so much that can be done with Smartboard and this lends itself to thinking about where to begin and how might interactive whiteboards be used not just as a "cool tool" but as a tool to reach and educate all children.

The number one reality for me and for more experienced and seasoned teachers is that they have never used one before. For others it might be that their school that does not have interactive whiteboards, particularly some of the more under resourced schools. The second reality is how does one find the time to experiment with an interactive white board given the nature of the work day. There never seems to be enough time to do anything nowadays. The use of interactive white boards comes with many challenges to say the least. One might think that if classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards, teachers would be equipped with the proper training to use them to the benefit of the children.

I found some sample interactive whiteboard lessons here that I plan to check out: http://www.learningtoday.com/corporate/interactive-whiteboard-lessons.asp