Chalkboards and trays full of broken chalk and chalk dust are becoming obsolete in classrooms across the country, as more teachers and school districts make the shift toward incorporating educational technology in the classroom.
Smart boards are infrared interactive whiteboards that operate off software running on a host computer or a tablet device such as an iPad, or they can be used to present material from websites, DVDs, CD-Roms, VHS tapes or television sets. Many educators use interactive whiteboards to run presentations or emphasize lecture points through use of videos. Whiteboard manufacturers also produce a host of educational software, such as digital flashcards, math lessons and similar content that help students interact and engage in the material.
Smart technologies are just one edu-tech player delivering interactive whiteboards. Other educational technology manufacturers include Promethian, Mimeo, Epson, eInstruction, Egan TeamBoard and Panasonic, which in late January introduced its Panaboard interactive whiteboard line with embedded PCs.
School administrators and teachers across the country rely on interactive white boards to increase student learning. And schools across the county are receiving interactive whiteboards through charitable donations. More than three-quarters of teachers polled say edu-tech helps them motivate students to learn, as well as respond to the different learning preferences of their students. Seventy percent of teachers say these teaching resources allow them to do more than ever before in the classroom.
Teachers need access to high-quality digital content to keep pace with schools’ investment in interactive whiteboards, tablets and other devices to maximize the educational benefits of technology in classrooms.
Interactive display whiteboards connected to iPads are changing the way lessons are delivered. College educators routinely say they enjoy using interactive whiteboards in the classroom for a variety of reasons, most of which don’t include the opportunity to provide expanded content. Professors say they can engage more students through the use of infrared or radio-operated clickers during lessons, with multiple choice or polling options. Using these handheld clicker devices, students chime in to lecture material, and professors say the anonymity offered by the clickers often appeals to and draws out shy students who typically avoid raising their hands and drawing the attention of their peers. Students also can provide real-time feedback to professors.