Smartboards...Whiteboards...Chalkboards

Over on the Tempered Radical, there is a conversation around Interactive Whiteboards. The general gist of the Radical's argument is that IWB's are a fairly expensive waste of money, with this post being the case in point. He sums it up well in the latest post saying that you add technology to enhance the learning process, which should focus on kids working socially to address meaningful issues to them or show their expertise (largely pulling from issues of justice/fairness). In that regard, I couldn't agree more and have stated so (although far less succinctly here or in depth)

I've followed from the outside, not being a participant for a myriad of reasons. First is that my school district is equipped with Activboards (Smartboards, IWB's, what have you). My room didn't have one when I moved in, but they ensured that I had one prior to day one. Second is that my district is in a technologically savvy area, and the expectation is that technology is being used. We have a tech stipend around different tech tools that we can use to enhance instruction or professional collaboration. An example of that would be learning to use Microsoft's OneNote, which we use as our team meeting notebook and I used to track my reading conferences with students. Third, I just haven't gotten up the courage to post comments of late. There is a degree of self-consciousness that I've had around my practice, and I've been more comfortable processing independently (perhaps soon).

I agree with the idea that IWB's aren't essential to instruction but they can be helpful. In social studies, I've been able to have students manipulate maps, or draw on maps to illustrate understanding from a text. I've also scanned in different pages from texts or readings, and had students highlight important passages or sentences. Students have been able to illustrate how they've determined importance, and how it connects to main ideas. Instead of using butcher paper, or paper flipcharts, I can save those things and return to them later. We also use Activotes (voting device) to do informal assessments. Granted they are multiple choice, but they allow for you to check student understanding and return to them later if they need follow up. I've also seen teachers use activotes where kids are responding to text, and the discussion that follows allows for students to defend their position. While on exemplary teacher visits, I saw robust student-led discussion around books as students discussed their positions, and tried to counter the arguments of their peers. It was incredible and quite powerful. Do you need an Activboard for that? No. But it certainly can be useful.