Blog #3 Chapter One Reflection

Interactive White Board Review

Initial Thoughts...     

When beginning to work with Interactive White Board this semester, a red flag immediately flew up in my mind. During one past semester, I was placed in a school system that used Interactive White Boards in every classroom. From a technology standpoint, this was a wonderful move in the right direction. From a developmentally appropriate standpoint, however, it was the complete opposite at this particular school system. My only experience observing the boards being used in an early childhood classroom (birth to age 8) was witnessing the teacher totally depend on a flip chart to teach the lesson, leave the lights off in the classroom almost all day to allow them to see the board, and have the children work through every lesson from the board. In my mind, Interactive White Boards connected with no collaboration, an abundance of "screen time", and no hands-on learning. I am happy to say that my time in this TPTE 486 class has changed these thoughts significantly. 

Reviewing Chapter One...

• "...research suggests that the success of their use depends on how they are implemented by teachers in a learning environment." After reading this statement in the first section, I could not agree more. I believe it is absolutely vital for teacher's to have a complete understanding of what is developmentally appropriate for their students at any age, not just during early childhood. I feel like this understanding will directly correlate to the way a teacher implements the use of an interactive white board in his/her classroom. 
• In the third section, the phrases "...teachers must use interactive whiteboards thoughtfully..." and with "proper adoption" stuck out to me. These phrases emphasized the points that teachers should be the ones to make the decision of when and how much to use the boards. I was impressed with the fact that the book highlighted this idea. 
• The book reviews the interactive whiteboards' impact on student achievement in this section. I found it interesting that some studies found a significant gain in achievement when using the boards, while other studies found no real gain. 
• The last two sections of the chapter focus on instructional training for the teacher. I cannot express how much I agree with the statements in the book. I am very thankful to have had the exposure and education of the boards during this TPTE class. I cannot imagine having a board installed in your classroom without extensive training and understand how teachers often misuse the boards. 

Questions...

     After reading this chapter and having the chance to experiment with an interactive whiteboard in class, several questions kept returning to my mind. How appropriate is the use of this technology in a PreK-2nd grade classroom? What effects does using the board have on students with ADHD? How does the board compare with student achievement when student's have the opportunity to learn the material in a "hands-on" way?