Week 3-SMART Board

Interactive Whiteboards in the Classroom
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The concept of the SMART Board is taking over schools across the nation. Many students have been exposed to the SMART Board or other similar systems by the names of ActivBoard, eBeam, Mimio, or Webster.

I knew from minimum previous exposure that SMART Boards were helpful because it allows for the computer screen to be projected by the board with capabilities of writing over as well as touch sensitive responsiveness.

However, I was greatly surprised by the extremely long list of tasks that SMART Boards are capable of aiding students and teachers in accomplishing. A few of these many items that I was impressed by included saving files for kids who are absent, digital storytelling, and having students create e-foliios that create samples of their own work and narrations.

SMART Boards have the potential to make a largely successful impact on a classroom. SMART Boards can bring lessons to life to generate interest and engagement from students. It can aid students that have different learning intelligences (such as visual, audio, and kinesthetic) within one classroom to be able to better understand concepts. SMART Boards can help a teacher to more easily organize and present lesson plans. When used properly, SMART Boards are a tool that can successfully help teachers to teach, students to learn, and even students to teach their classmates.

However, the key concept here is that this is possible when the SMART Board is used properly. If a teacher has trouble using the SMART Board and is unsure of what they are doing when trying to present a lesson, the result can be a disaster. Teachers who struggle with the SMART Board are likely to get frustrated which will result in students becoming distracted, disengaged, and doubting their teachers capabilities which will disrupt a classroom and turn it into a place of chaos.

Should teachers learn how to use a SMART Board and feel comfortable with how to work it before they try to incorporate into lesson plans, then it can be a great teaching aid. However, should the teacher not receive the proper instruction and experience beforehand, this could lead to frustration and embarrassment and hinder students learning experiences.