As trainee teachers we have a big responsibility in making sure that the children we teach use the internet to its fullest and to enable them to get the most out of the huge amount of resources available online. However, we also have an even greater responsibility to make sure that children do so safely and responsibly.

That doesn’t mean simply watching over them all the time and ensuring the school has policies to filter inappropriate content. It is vital that we teach children how to navigate safely themselves and how to respond if they do come across something that is not appropriate or that makes them feel scared, unsafe etc.

Finally, we must ensure that parents have access to help, support and information from teachers on how to help their children navigate the internet safely.

I have worked in classrooms for the last few years and I’ve seen first-hand how IWBs have become an indispensable resource in classrooms.  They make children’s learning more interesting! With access to the whole of the internet we can use a huge range of resources to enhance and better our lessons. With the use of multimedia in lessons, not only can we use pictures but videos, games and interactive resources to draw them in.

The more we are able to master the software, the more we can do and the easier it becomes. IWBs offer such a huge range of options: uncovering hidden areas of a slide, putting in interactive sound buttons or creating your own activities for children to do on the board. The options are almost endless!

The interactive aspect is especially crucial. With access to a huge range of media, children can easily manipulate the things on the screen . For example, grouping different sets of images or drawing on top of another image to highlight something.

Interactive whiteboards can help create fluidity in our lessons too. You can easily adapt your slides as you move along in response to the children or you can use the internet to search out questions that children had.

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