Many
schools have classrooms equipped with smart boards. Just because the technology
is there does not make it responsible to overuse it. If the lesson or activity
does not call for the technology then as an educator you must be aware. An
English classroom allows for many opportunities to write on a board. The need
to always use the smart board may cause distraction. Smart boards come equipped
with speakers, easy touch capability, and computer accessibility. When notes
are placed on the board the technology of the smart board may just over
compensate.
As
a future educator I hope to have the luxury of having a smart board inside my
room. I will use it every day. I would use it every second, only if the lesson
truly benefitted from the capabilities of the smart board. I have seen teachers
us a smart board to write “Do Nows” all marking period. Why waste time if the
technology is not being used to the full potential. The smart board could be
used much more effectively in the English classroom.
For
example the ability to project what is on a computer screen and edit this with
markers could turn a grammar lesson into an exciting activity. Poems,
sentences, and paragraphs can quickly be changed for the entire class to see.
Images can connect lines of poetry to the intended metaphor. Literal statements
can battle with figurative lines of verse. The smart board allows for quick
change and clean change. A simple poem can be marked up then instantly removed
of all markings. A poem that is being read can now be heard from the original
author as a sound clip plays behind what is shown on the board.
Though
these examples are vague, the possibilities are endless. A “Do Now” should be
seen on a smart board. A “Do Now” should never be the only thing a teacher uses
this technology for.
I have seen Smartboards turn teachers from great to terrible. In high school, I had a teacher my freshman year for bio before my school had Smartboards. The class was fun, interactive, and we did labs all the time. As a senior, I had that same teacher again, after Smartboards were put in every classroom. Because of pressure to use the technology, this teacher turned from discussion, labs, and lecture to slideshows and videos. The slideshows were dry and uninteresting and the videos did not give any information we couldn't have found out in a lab or by reading the textbook. It wasn't the Smartboard's fault, it was the teacher not knowing how to accurately use the technology. Technology and teaching should work hand in hand, not one replacing the other! Great post.
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