Smartboards

http://hoofbeat20.edublogs.org/

I have never been in a classroom which used a smart board before but I had heard a lot about them and most of it was all good. My prior knowledge about smart boards is that they are great ways to have student interact and resources for the teacher. The example that comes to mind in which they could be very beneficial is in physics. If you are drawing an diagram of a ball that would hypothetically fall off of the ledge because of the angle, then you could demonstrate that and put the object in motion using the smart board. This would have been very beneficial for me as a student since I struggle to visualize things unless I can physically see it, I am a visual learner and if I am not shown, I have a hard time imagining it. In addition, students can write on the board which would be a great way for students to practice handwriting or cursive in younger classrooms. There are many ways in which these boards can be utilized to help to make an efficient classroom and help maximize students learning. Although there are many positives, there are also down sides. Many older teachers are not proficient in technology like younger generations and they may now know how to use it which is a problem. Trying to figure out technical problems can take up valuable classroom time. Also, it is a relatively new technology and so there could still be new problems with it. I also researched and found out that it takes time to learn to write on the boards since it can be very sensitive to writing, just like learning how to write on a chalkboard. In my opinion, I would love to have a smart board in my classroom one day and I think it could be very beneficial to the students and to help me teach more effectively to my students. Technology is advancing so quickly, I cant wait to see what they come up with next! I just hope I can keep up!