Although I had previous experience of using an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) when working as a teaching assistant, I’d only really used it as a screen to write on, or watch teachers play games with the students on. The session showed me how versatile a tool it can be and the importance of using it as an active tool rather than just a passive screen. Even little reminders like making sure images are free of copyright were really important, things you don’t necessarily think about at first but you really need to remember!
I also found the reminder of how the children we will be teaching have grown up in a completely digital world, and expect their resources to be tactile and interactive. That word ‘interactive’ was really what stuck with me, interaction is the key for children now and the IWB is such a great tool for its inclusion –
You are able to use;
-physical interactivity – actually getting the children up to use the board
-Conceptual interactivity – use a slide on the IWB as a starting point for discussion
– Technical interactivity – There is so much you can do with it, whether it’s building your own games or activities, or as a place to embed other media such as videos or audio
The board is a focus point, it can so easily be used to structure the flow of your lesson. By playing around with the different resources within the Smart Notebook program itself, I gained so much more confidence and excitement about the possibilities the board could give to future sessions.
I know I’ll need a lot more practice but I found the session to be one of the most useful in terms of practicality that I’be had so far.