Interactive White Boards-wooh hoo!

I am very excited that there is an Interactive White Board (IWB) at my prac school. It is located in the ICT's room, which is large and new also. My MT said that I would get the opportunity to see how it could be used, so that will be wonderful.

On Tuesday my year 4 class had an ICT lesson in the afternoon, whereby they were doing typing activities and beginning on a pamphlet for the school to utilise for the community. Learning Engagement Theory (Kearsley and Shcneiderman,1999) is the basis for an activity such as this. The use of technology, along with create, relate, donate, encourages student motivation, interaction and creative thinking. These are all important skills to be acquired, as they incorporate Dimension (3), extend and refine knowledge and Dimension (4), use knowledge meaningfully. (Marzano and Pickering, 1997) Hopefully what I have learnt over the past few weeks will assist in the development of this pamphlet ( which will probably become my authentic task). More to follow! Interactive whiteboards bring many dimensions to the class environment. Dimension 1, 2 and 3 ( Marzano and Pickering, 1997) are used in this technology IWB utilises the senses of sight touch and sound to engage students in learning. "Technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise." (Kearsley and Schneiderman, 1999) The vast array of information provided on the IWB covers many topics and stimulates interest in all age groups. It encourages student interaction, creativity and provides an environment that could enhance student centric learning. The learning manager becomes the facilitator and not the provider of information. These quality aspects of learning managers encourage students to use the processes of active learning ( Albine Chrisitan University, 2000) This in turn requires that students use essential life long learning skills. References Albine Christian University (2000) the ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence Marzano, R. & Pickering. D. (1997). Dimensions of Learning. Teachers Manual (2nd ed.). Victoria. Hawker Browlow Education. Smith, Richard. Lynch, David. & Mienczakowski, Jim. (2003, November). The Bachelor of Learning Management (BLM and Education Capability)