Boon or Bandwagon?

To all that are having difficulties accessing this article from home, it does open up in the library media lab without any problems.

This article gives teachers and students' perspectives regarding the use of IWB's. The article was compiled through the use of interviews, surveys and questionnaires.

The positives - IWB's were viewed by teachers as being: Flexible/Versatile; Multimedia/Model; Efficient; Made Easier for Supporting/Planning & Development of Resources; Encouraging for Interaction and Group Participation in Lessons.

The positives - IWB's were viewed by students as being: Fun; Interesting; Interactive; Easier to Learn how to use Multi-Media vs. Navigating a Computer Mouse; Images on the SmartBoard Remained in their Memories which Assisted with Learning and Retaining the Materials.

The negatives: - IWB's were viewed by the teachers as: Problematic without Adequate Training; having Technical Difficulties which could send the Class into Boredom until the Problems are Straightened Out; having Problems with Viewing the Screen because of Direct Sunlight, the Teachers Shadow, Inappropriate Fonts/Color Problems, Dust on Screen or Projector Lens; being a Safety Concern because of the Number of Wires Needed for the Equipment; having Alignment/Calibration Issues when the Equipment is Moved.

The negatives - IWB's were viewed by students as: A Pain/Embarrassment to get up out of their seats to work on the board; an Embarrassment if they have an answer wrong in front of the entire class; Boring if the teacher doesn't know how to use the board properly and uses it simply for lecture purposes; Difficult to see and use if the screen is not positioned at the correct height.

In my opinion, I believe that IWB's are "boon" not "bandwagon". I believe that as with anything else, it takes practice to use and master the IWB's. The positives so outweigh the negatives and with enough practice, the negatives can be eliminated.

April

Youtube Smartboard Demo

This demo teaches you the "basic" operation and functionality of the IWB's. I've used the Smartboard only once but did have a history class where the Professor used the Smartboard to teach every lesson. I'm fairly familiar with the basics that this demo talked about; however, I did learn some things regarding the smart key board, how to make it appear and the various types of Smartboards that are available.

I'm hoping to get to the library tomorrow or Tuesday before class to check out and experiment with the software.

April

Interactive Whiteboards in Math

This article describes, in steps, how to use IWB software such as Easitech Venn Diagram and Function Math, Difference Found and Smart Notebook, using the Scaffolding teaching approach. Each step, (Demonstration, Modler, Teacher in control - inviting the pupil, Pupils in control with the teacher "advising" and Pupils work independently) is broken down with suggestions for each category.
April

The Digital Classroom

This article lists the costs of the interactive white board equipment and it's very expensive. I can now see why some districts cannot afford to put one in every room. However, there is some grant funding and some companies do offer discounts on their equipment.Really impressive functions mentioned include the teacher's ability to have scribbles translated to printed text and to have every scribble and every place visited on the board recorded so that there is a record for absent students/distant learners.A function that I can really see the students taking to is their, (through a wireless key pad), ability to answer embedded questions and have the results/answers appear quickly.April

The Wonders of Interactive White Boards

There were some interesting details in this article. I'm surprised that the United Kingdom, China and Mexico are utilizing the SmartBoard more than the U.S. I know that some schools have Smartboards, but since the students are so responsive to using them, you'd think that there would be more of an effort to have one placed in every classroom, or at least have more of them available for teachers to use.

Additionally, I would be interested in viewing the RM Educational software that was slated to be released in the summer of '07. This software is supposed to be aligned with state standards and includes lesson plans, homework, games and assessment for various subjects.

As far as the Activote, I believe it's a really great assessment tool to be able to poll students and receive their feedback.

Also, I took advantage and signed up for the free subscription of T.H.E. Journal that was included with the article. Thanks.
April

PowerPoint Presentation

It's been a while since I last had to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. I had forgotten some important details when transferring sound and video. I betcha next time I do a presentation, I make sure the files are imported correctly and the files are also on my USB flash drive. I betcha that I'll also take my USB flash drive to school and make sure everything opens up before I give my presentation!

Lesson learned the hard way!

April

MAC Computers

After using MAC computers for the first time in class the other night, I discovered that I really like the MACs! There are some really cool functions! I wish I would have used the MAC before I recently purchased my computer for home use. I think I may have opted to purchase a MAC!
Oh well, next time.
April

Video Project Reflection

I have just uploaded the video to you tube. I'm a little disappointed with the final version that we posted. As I posted in my earlier blog, I was hoping that Audacity would open my sound files that I made from home but it didn't. My intention was to have either music playing faintly or have children singing their ABC's faintly in the background while the narrator spoke. Unfortunately, we couldn't open up the sound files in Audacity . Additionally, I started and completed about 3/4 of the movie at home. The next day, Carol came to my house and we added information and pictures that she had taken into the video. However, when we got to class, the version of Movie Maker I used at home was not compatible with the version of Movie Maker that Albright College uses and we had to start making the video all over on Wednesday night. Thank goodness the files of the pics and audio did open up. After we saved the video that we made at Albright, I was able to open the video up at home. I think I have a newer version of Movie Maker than Albright has, (my computer is just a few months old), and it was frustrating and disappointing to me.

Regarding the actual assignment itself, all things being equal, I really did enjoy making a video since I've never made one before. I liked learning how to use Movie Maker and I can see myself using this program in the future. I think if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have chosen the topic that we did. It was difficult to get video footage because the learning center is off-site and we were not permitted to use pictures of the students because we were putting the video on you tube. So, we had very few "approved" students to use during production.

I think it would have been helpful if we could have been put in our groups a few classes prior than what we were and had been given a little more time to think about and talk about the video we planned on making (even if the discussions took place outside of class). I felt that this part of the project was a little rushed and had we be given a bit more time for planning, we could have possibly produced a better video.

Just one person's opinion.

See ya in class.

April

Video Making Blog

Hello everyone. Carol and I were busy yesterday and today collecting data for our movie. We used movie maker at my house; however, we discovered that we can not run the video we made thus far using Movie Maker because Albright's library doesn't have the same version of movie maker. All was not lost because I was able to open the pics and the sounds/music we downloaded for the project. I discovered that I could record at home into Movie Maker using a Play Station (Sing Star) microphone. I hope that we are able to copy the files we have thus far into Audacity.

Tomorrow, I will cam cord the director of the Learning Center and shoot footage of Carol teaching a class. I read the tips for shooting video. Hope all goes well.

April

4 Generations: The Water Buffalo Movie

That was very moving. It was happy and sad at the same time. To think that it all started with a blog.

The generosity of the violinist was remarkable. To think, because of technology and the generosity and compassion of this one man, he's changed a whole family's life for the better.

I had tears welling up but was in the library so I didn't cry.

But what an incredible story and gift.

See ya tonight.

April