The Who, What, Why and How of Interactive Whiteboards!

Introduction into Interactive Whiteboards 

These boards provide easy ways for you to make your classroom and the lessons you teach interactive.  It can help them engage in the lesson and be involved.  There are different types of interactive boards.  Two of the more well known brands are SMART and Promethean.  These companies not only sell the boards but also they will supply materials that you are able to use on the board when you teach lessons.  Although these boards can be really effective to children's learning it sometimes can be a hinderance and a barrier to their learning.  It depends on how it is used and why you are using it.  

How to use your board effectively
These boards have a lot of benefits to learning and teaching if they are done effectively.  Some features that are associated with the interactive white board are: hiding and revealing text, being able to present information, highlighting important material, bringing in images to the board, collaboration, problem solving and so many others.  The amount of uses for these boards are really unlimited.  If you can think it, it can probably be performed on one of these boards.  

The benefits of using your board
Incorporating any technology into the classroom in todays time is something that is necessary because it is so widely used outside of the classroom.  There are many benefits to using this technology in the classroom though.  It can bring interactivity and engagement into your lessons. Students are going to have their attention to the board if there are interactive parts to the lesson rather than if you were just standing there and taking to them.  It makes organizing your lessons easier. Once you make a document for the whiteboard, like a flipchart, you can save it and reuse it the next time you teach the lesson.  It also can include informal and formal assessment so you can see if the class is paying attention and also see if they are understanding the information.  When students are engaged you are going to have less classroom management problems so it will help you keep those to a minimum.  

Some of the Challenges associated with the board

As many benefits as there associated with using interactive whiteboards there are some challenges that are associated with them as well.  One of the biggest challenges for interactive boards are that when teachers are using them they are not using them in a way that is effective for student learning. Since this is a piece of technology there are bound to be days when it does not work properly and in that case you have to have a back up plan so the day is not lost.  Finally sometimes when projecting something on the board what it looks like before it is project is larger than what it looks like once it is projected.  You have to make sure that every child is going to be able to read and see the board from all locations in the classroom.  

Student Achievement and your board 
Connections between assessment and using the interactive whiteboard have been some what inconsistent.  Even with that said, there have been studies that show that when interactive whiteboards are involved there is a gain in student achievement.  That study also showed that those lessons that used graphics and videos where the ones that were linked to that achievement.  Also when student response systems are used it had the highest achievement rate.  Student response systems are when students use devices to take polls and surveys and those responses are projected onto the board immediately.  

Training involved with the board
The most important thing to do when using any technology in the classroom is to make sure that you know how to use it and use it effectively.  Nothing is more frustrating then having technology and not knowing what to do with it or how to use it.  A good way to learn how to use technology in general is by taking continuing education and professional development that is associated with interactive whiteboards.  If you know the training and how to use the equipment you will be more confident in using it and the lessons that you make with them will better help and meet your students needs.  

Copyright or Copy wrong?

Copyright is something that many people know about but many people do not realize the rules that are associated with it.  Since many people do not know the rules that are associated with copyright they brake them often and do not even realize it.  To start lets talk about what copyright is.  Copyright is a device put onto creations so that the creator is able to control how their work is used.   It allows the creator to receive compensation and rights for their work when other use it.  It allows the creator to have the rights to make copies of their work, sell or distribute copies of their work, and prepare their new works. Copyright applies to tangible items including; a fixated item, original work that is creative beyond what was originally done.  Many things are unable to be copyrighted though and these are things that are able for use with out permission.  Things like facts and ideas that are in public knowledge, words, names or slogans, blank forms, and government works.  If we did not have copyright your works could be copied and taken as someone else's work. There are ways to use works in a classroom or other spheres of life without getting in trouble though.

Fair Use is used to get around the creators rights on their work.  There are some factors to consider though when thinking about fair use.  One factor is why and how you are going to use the work.  If you are using it for educational purposes then it is most likely going to be allowed to use it as a fair use piece.  If the work is more artistic then you are less likely to be allowed to use it as fair use.  You also have to think about how much of the work you are going to use.  The more you use the less likely it can be done in a fair use way.  This are likely to be counted as fair use pieces are chapter from a book, an article, short essay, and a chart or diagram.  Even though pieces can be considered fair use sometimes you still need permission.   Some things that you may need permission for would be when you have to use things repeatedly, or when you want to use the whole work and not just a part.

Sometimes educators don't need permission to borrow things when using works for educational purposes.  When doing this though there are still guidelines that you have to follow.  Even though there are guidelines they are not enforceable by law and are voluntary.  Students are able to incorporate portions of materials if using it for a specific course or specific project.  Teachers and other faculty are allowed to use portions of materials when producing multimedia for the classroom when it supports curriculum.  There are time restrictions for using materials though.   Fair use for copyrighted material only last for two years after that permission has to be granted again.  For materials like text, music, numerical data and motion media only 10% can be used with more specifics for each.  When it comes to pictures or illustrations no more than five images from one artist or photographer can be used.

Even though I have explained copyright above these are just the basics.  There are so many more rules, regulations and specifics that are associated with this topic.  To find more information about this topic check out the website that I retrieved my information from.

What in the World is a Wiki?

A wiki is a great tool to use in your classroom.  Many people though do not even know what a wiki is.  A wiki is a webpage that can be edited by those that visit the site.  It allows for collaboration on a page and can be constantly edited and reviewed to keep the information accurate and up to date. Anyone with Internet access can make and use a wiki page.  You can use wikis for a number of different things.  You can collaborate on projects, share photos, and research.

There are many reasons why you should use wikis in the classroom.  One of the reasons is that students are able to gain knowledge when looking at these wikis and use their prior knowledge to build wikis.  When creating these wikis they are able to use their creative juices to make something that they think will be helpful to others and to themselves.  Since wikis are allowed to be continuously edited it fosters creativity and allows students to build it.  If students are building and editing these websites together then they are building relationships and learning from one another which is really important in education.  Using a wiki can also bring technology into the classroom which is something that is becoming more prevalent in todays education system.  

For teachers wiki’s offer a host of opportunities.  A website that I am basing this blog off of, Teachers First, has many examples of how teachers can use wikis in the classroom. Some of the examples it gives it, virtual tours, class encyclopedia, book reviews or author studies and many more.  The website also breaks down different uses for wikis into subject areas. Although wikis have so many different uses in the classroom they are still not something that is used in classrooms.

A lot of times when you put students on the internet parents become concerned with internet safety. You need to tell the parents what you plan on doing and give them a detailed account of what is going to be going on.  You also need to share the added security benefits that are associated with the wiki programming.  Also giving the parents a way to look at the page so they can see what their children are doing is another good way to get them on board.