What are interactive whiteboards?
You may be wondering, what are interactive whiteboards anyway? Well, they are one of the many new cutting-edge teaching resources available in schools today and many schools are now using them to replace flip charts, traditional whiteboards, blackboards, overhead projectors and other essential traditional teaching resources. They allow teachers to easily display anything on a desktop or laptop, including websites, games, and educational software.
Whiteboards can help teachers easily record class instructional materials so they can be posted for students to review later. This is great for students who learn best through repetition and need to see materials over and over again. It is also ideal for those who have difficulty understanding a particular concept, who are missing a class, or who need to review for a test. With this new technology, instruction and learning can be completely transformed.
There are many resources available:
The good news is that there are many teaching resources available to use in conjunction with these interactive whiteboards. There are software packages available, websites that are designed for use with these boards, and some resources that may be specific to certain brands as well. Many whiteboards even come with built-in resources and templates to make it easy for teachers to implement this new technology in the classroom.
Great ways teachers can make use of interactive whiteboards:
There are so many different ways that teachers can make use of these interactive whiteboards. With all the technology provided, learning has been totally transformed. Here are some ways you can start using whiteboards to make teaching easier for you and the learning experience better for your students.
* Save classroom lessons for students who miss class
* Submit presentations that have been created by a teacher or student
* Teaching typing or computer skills to a whole group
* Create lessons and video files that can be posted to the web or servers for students to access later.
* Teaching the various steps needed to complete math problems.
* Show students how to more effectively navigate the web.
* Brainstorm with students as a class.
* Teaching new vocabulary and spelling words.
* Sharing projects that students have completed within parent-teacher conferences.
* Create lessons at home that can then be used at school, then save those lessons to use again or share with others.
Of course, these are just some of the ways that teachers can use these new teaching resources in the classroom. Interactive whiteboards provide many teaching options, and with a little research and experimentation on your part, you can find many ways to use them effectively for classroom instruction and student interaction.