Interactive whiteboards in Secondary Schools

[Stephen McCullagh]

Dear all,

I am interested in hearing from those teachers in secondary school who use interactive whiteboards as a teaching resource.

I am hearing various conflicting opinions on whether interactive boards are useful in secondary schools in particular, rather than a normal projector. Obviously they have their place in primary schools, but how relevant are they in secondary schools ?

Any thoughts or advice please ?

Steve.

[Imogen Bertin]

Dear Steve

I recently spoke to UCC AV about how third level will cope with all these
whiteboard natives coming through. They are tending towards large
touchscreens not interactive whiteboards because of the difficulties of
larger classrooms/lecturers moving around. The screens can also be used as
digital poster boards. I will try to find out some makes.

Imogen Bertin

Reagrove, Minane Bridge, Co. Cork, Ireland (there is no zip code).
Tel: +353 21 4887300 Fax: +353 21 4887901 Mobile: +353 87 2655261
Email: imo...@ctc.ie

Dear all,

Steve.

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[John Hegarty]

The Maths teachers here went for tablet laptops. They find they can write and draw diagrams more accurately, naturally and easily than with an iwb. They like that they can sit facing the class rather then standing with their back to the class at the board. They like that they can prepare work anywhere they have their laptop which is more difficult with an iwb setup. While you can run the iwb software on a laptop not connected to the board it is difficult to use in the absence of the board.

jh

[Noel Cunningham]

Hi Steve,

I had a good rant about this on this forum 12 months ago and it generated some interesting advice, the link is at the bottom.

 

I (science teacher) used to use the IWB almost exclusivity as a data projector, but VERRRRRRRRRRRRY slowly have begun to use it for its intended purpose.

Having said that, I read the following yesterday, which looks interesting:

 

03.03.2010 – Promethean, a world leader in the rapidly growing global market for interactive learning technology, today announces its inaugural online film festival. Designed to showcase the talents of the multitude of teachers around the world who currently use Promethean’s popular ActivBoard, the festival encourages educators to upload videos of their ActivClassroom in action.

http://www.pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=49878

Rant link:

http://groups.google.com/group/cesi-list/browse_thread/thread/e52fef6dfdc40f95/df7cfda5b2b53762?hl=en-GB&lnk=gst&q=noel+cunningham+interactive+whiteboard#

 

Noel

[David Kearney]

Hello Steve,

I also would love to hear from colleagues who are using the boards. In some
cases, I suspect, the boards are being used in a particular way i.e. as
projection screens for PowerPoints, websites etc. This is not to negate the
value of such activities. However, it still leaves the students as 'passive
recipients' of knowledge. While this role 'fits' our knowledge-laden
curriculum, it does not necessarily engage students. IWBs (and I would
specifically mean IWB software) provide authoring tools that allow the
teacher and the students to collaboratively create learning artifacts, to
manipulate learning objects ...as well as providing the visual and
multi-media environment that PowerPoints etc. provide. Being a 'Web 1.0'
man, I still like being able to physically grab those learning objects (such
as Triangles in GeoGebra) and being able to manipulate them on the surface
of the board ...I can do the same via a tablet or a wireless mouse but - for
me - this latter is not as tangible as the direct on-board contact. And I
want my students to likewise manipulate these objects on the board.

I have gathered links to a set of IWB Guides for use in different subjects.
These guides were produced in and for the UK, but there are many useful
ideas. Visit
http://www.cbiproject.net/classroom_guides.html
(and scroll to the 'Post Primary' section).

As with any technology, the key is how the teacher extracts the particular
aspects that will help in teaching and learning. This is true with chalk,
with textbooks, with video, with 'normal projectors' ...and with IWBs (and
then there are all the classroom strategies such as group work, Q and A,
paired reading etc. etc.). A teacher should only use a technology if it
confers some advantage (for the teacher, for the subject, for the learners
...or a combination of these: as classrooms vary so much there will be many
different opinions on this!).

HTH (well, at least, the Guides might help!)
David

I write the above as former teacher so I would love to hear from teachers
still at the (virtual) chalk face.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Stephen McCullagh" <stevemc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:39 PM

To: <cesi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [CESI List] Interactive whiteboards in Secondary Schools

> Dear all,

[jacinta burke]

I use an IWB as an interactive whiteboard for science teaching. The junior
classes get great use out of it and love it. There are a lot of resources
out there that can be adapted and used for junior cycle. I find it really
useful for engaging students and for drill and practice activities.

With senior cycle students I use it more simply to annotate over power
points and other files. It does have a use if students don't understand
something you can add a page with more detail. It is also useful for making
concept maps at the end of a topic. They can make it on the board and then
it can be simply saved and printed as a revision sheet.

My senior cycle students don't like coming up to the board but would happily
interact with it from their seats! I borrowed a wireless active slate that
they could pass around and they were happy to use this. It is a slow process
though to develop your own interactive resources.

Jacinta

-----Original Message-----
From: cesi...@googlegroups.com [mailto:cesi...@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Stephen McCullagh
Sent: 11 March 2010 12:39

To: cesi...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [CESI List] Interactive whiteboards in Secondary Schools

Dear all,

Steve.

--

[lorcan ginty]

limited use in secondary, in fact very little... Most teachers rely on
the
(Academic teachers)- textbooks, worksheets, and a fair bit of skill.
(H.E. teahcers - flour, eggs and water and a fair bit of skill)
(language teachers- C.D. players, texbooks, worksheets, their voice
and a fair bit of skill)
etc, etc.
IWB are rarely used in secondary classrooms as the change over between
class is to quick and varied and genreally every 40min its just not
feasable to be switching software or programs between classes as there
is a hell of alot of other stuff todo. The best thing is a p.c.
dataprojector and white board. The teacher can prepare everthing on
the p.c.s The secondary subject software for IWB tends be U.K. based
and not always completly applicable to Irish curriculum, which is more
diverse and large. Secondary teachers with exam years, teach to the
exam. With data projector, p.c. and whiteboard exam questions can be
displayed and other stuff. Genreally too expensive and time
consuming, lack of applicable software.

[lorcan ginty]

Why are you interest in this topic stephen?

[Adrienne Webb]

Hi Steve

As a secondary school teacher who  uses an IWB outside of the science lab and has done so for a number of years, I think it has a tremendous amount to offer the second level classroom teacher.  At the very least I can use it like an old fashioned black board, save my lesson and not make dust of my pearls of wisdom.  The discussion about tailored software has its place but it is only one aspect of use.  Having delivered in-service to my colleagues on a number of occasions and listened to experiences in other schools, a few points have struck me very forcibly about the integration of IWBs at second level.

i)  CPD, other than a cursory introduction, does not go hand in hand with the hardware arriving in a school
ii) there is an assumption that up-skilling can take place in a time vacuum or by osmosis
iii) use does require a comfort level with technology in the classroom
iv) use of an IWB may start out supporting a didactic approach but as a teacher becomes more familiar with what is possible with a board and starts using it, teaching methods and styles also change to maximise what is possible with a view all the time to the support of the student in their coursework. 

Hope that contributes to the debate.

Adrienn Webb

[Neal McQuaid]

Like Adrienn Webb, I also use it as a resource for saving my previous
work. I'm a first year ICT teacher and find it really useful for just
saving any notes I make and using it as a refresh at the start of a
class sometimes to just show previous scrawls/comments thoughts.
I'm in UK schools which have them in every single classroom. I haven't
seen many people using them with IWB resources, but I have seen a lot
of people using them in this method of just saving their work for
future usage.

From the comments I've heard in the two training schools I've been in
also, the IWB's don't get used at all if there isn't any training with
them. In my first school, not even the ICT teachers used them as there
had never been any training on them!

On Mar 12, 9:06 pm, Adrienne Webb <awebb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Steve
>
> As a secondary school teacher who  uses an IWB outside of the science lab
> and has done so for a number of years, I think it has a tremendous amount to
> offer the second level classroom teacher.  At the very least I can use it
> like an old fashioned black board, save my lesson and not make dust of my
> pearls of wisdom.  The discussion about tailored software has its place but
> it is only one aspect of use.  Having delivered in-service to my colleagues
> on a number of occasions and listened to experiences in other schools, a few
> points have struck me very forcibly about the integration of IWBs at second
> level.
>
> i)  CPD, other than a cursory introduction, does not go hand in hand with
> the hardware arriving in a school
> ii) there is an assumption that up-skilling can take place in a time vacuum
> or by osmosis
> iii) use does require a comfort level with technology in the classroom
> iv) use of an IWB may start out supporting a didactic approach but as a
> teacher becomes more familiar with what is possible with a board and starts
> using it, teaching methods and styles also change to maximise what is
> possible with a view all the time to the support of the student in their
> coursework.
>
> Hope that contributes to the debate.
>
> Adrienn Webb
>
> On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 12:39 PM, Stephen McCullagh <
>

> stevemccull...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Dear all,
>
> > I am interested in hearing from those teachers in secondary school who use
> > interactive whiteboards as a teaching resource.
>
> > I am hearing various conflicting opinions on whether interactive boards are
> > useful in secondary schools in particular, rather than a normal projector.
> >  Obviously they have their place in primary schools, but how relevant are
> > they in secondary schools ?
>
> > Any thoughts or advice please ?
>
> > Steve.
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "CESI-list" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to cesi...@googlegroups.com
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > cesi-list-...@googlegroups.com
> > For more options, visit this group at

> >http://groups.google.com/group/cesi-list?hl=en-GBwhere all messages are

[Noel Cunningham]

What I would love to know is how many / what percentage of classrooms have these IWBs either lying idle or acting simply as a data projector and screen.

 

I don't tend to save my board-work simply because I have typed notes which students can read (or download electronically), so board-work tends to be more for 'off the cuff' stuff, but obviously that is more of a personal teaching-style and more suited to some subjects than others.

 

With over 400 members here I had hoped there would have been more of a response (although obviously this wouldn't be a representative cross-section). However with only two or three replies from the secondary sector  . . .

 

Didn't the department carry out a review of ICT in school recently?

If so where is it and can someone save me the time of trawling through it by letting me know if this issue was covered.

 

Cheers,

 

Noel

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[Mags Amond]

Ouch Noel, I forgot to reply last time!

There are four IWBs in my school (all in practical rooms as it happens), of various vintage shape and quality.
They are shared among many teacerhs so their use varies, according to teaching style. I see most of them in use most of the time I visit those rooms. Showing quality internet resources sourced by the teachers is the main use I see so far.

I think if I had a free choice I'd love a tablet arrangement, although I love the touchscreen short throw board also. Students don't seen to have a preference either way - as long as they can 'have a go'.

Mags

--


Mags Amond
Regional Development Officer
Second Level Support Service
087 9373803
mags...@slss.ie
www.slss.ie