THE USE OF INTERACTIVE WHITE BOARDS IN A HISTORY CLASSROOM J. ENGELBRECHT
INTERACTIVE WHITE BOARD BRANDS SMARTBOARD
HOW CAN EDUCATORS USE AN INTERACTIVE BOARD The interactive board can be used in numerous ways: PowerPoint Presentation Drag and pull interaction software Label diagrams Teach Science and Mathematics Vote and take multiple choice tests Show video clips and DVD/videos
WHY USE AN INTERACTIVE BOARD TO TEACH? Interactive boards cater for a number of modes of learning: Visual – text, pictures, animation and video Auditory – speeches, sounds, music, poetry, pronunciation Tactile – physically interact with the board
MY IVESTIGATION: SHORTCOMINGS OF INTERACTIVE BOARDS Smartboard software is not compatible with other interactive boards. Educators need to be fully trained in technical side of interactive board use – interactive boards can do so much (too much?) Transfer of skills from one interactive board to the next? Can interactive boards be used for only simple activities/lower order thinking skills?
CONCLUSION From a technical point of view the boards will need highly trained teachers and these teachers will need constant re-training to keep up with new trends/software. No transferable skills from one interactive board to the next. Also from a History side only small tasks can be done and no software for History teachers. No need for interactive boards.