Interactive Whiteboards
In recent years, the use of interactive whiteboards has definitely been growing, especially in higher education. I think that the majority of us are more familiar with (or at lest have heard of) Smart Boards. These are the most popular brand/type of interactive whiteboards. I think that interactive whiteboards have the potential to be great resources in the classroom, if they are being used effectively. I know that the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom is still fairly new and not many educators have mastered using them. Many of my own professors do not take advantage of the Smart Boards in our classrooms because they are unsure of how to use them. I am very interested in learning more about how to use interactive whiteboards in the classroom because they have so much more to offer than a traditional whiteboard. Interactive whiteboards can be used to facilitate multi-sensory learning and can accommodate visual, kinesthetic, tactile, and auditory learners.
As a special educator, I am very excited about the rising trend of interactive whiteboard use in the classroom. I think that this tool is beneficial for all learners, but could be especially helpful in a special education setting. Many children receiving special education need interactive, hands-on activities and instruction. Interactive whiteboards are the perfect tool for this!
Flipped Classrooms
Another rising trend in education is the implementation of flipped classrooms (again, especially in higher education institutions). I am interested in the concept of the flipped classroom but I do not know if it is something I would ever implement myself. I took a math class here at GVSU that was a flipped classroom and at first I really liked it, but as the semester went on it became harder to motivate myself to do the work outside of class. I liked having time to do homework in class, but learning the content at home was difficult at times. I became frustrated when I did not understand the lesson and had to wait for my professor to reply to my email before I could continue on with the material. This classroom set-up is great for students who are independent and motivated and will actually put time into the class. This is a terrible set-up for students who are more dependent on teacher instruction and have difficulty motivating themselves to stay on task. As a special educator, I don't think I would ever consider doing a flipped classroom with my students. Many children in special education require accommodations and support that are not available with flipped classrooms.
Sam I chose to look at the same trends in education as you did, and I think in general are opinions are reflective of the same ideas. I think there are too many instances where people don't take full advantage of all that a smart board can offer our students, so I'm skeptical with that aspect. Do you think that we should be trained in them or just kind of figure it out through discovery? Maybe there are good training programs that teachers are exposed to, but often times I feel like they're just playing around to see what they have to offer. I completely agree with everything you said in the flipped classroom paragraph. I also took a class here that was flipped and lacked in motivation outside of class to do the work. I also think that flipped classrooms for students with special needs wouldn't benefit them really at all. In my post I mentioned how flipped classrooms don't really allow for additional explanations, which many of our students need. I also don't think that I would ever facilitate a flipped classroom with my future students, but maybe something new will come along and change our minds!
ReplyDeleteMegan,
DeleteI definitely think that teachers should receive training if they are going to be working with interactive whiteboards. If a school decides to place interactive whiteboards in their classrooms, they should also provide teachers with appropriate training so that they may be properly used. Why spend the money to have the board go unused in the classroom?! Obviously it would be near impossible to train teachers how to do EVERYTHING on these boards, but schools should take the time to at least train them in the basics. I have had a class here where the professor had absolutely no idea how to do anything with the Smart board. In fact, she barely even knew how to turn it on! I know that if I were to ever teach in a classroom that had a Smart board I would need training in order to effectively use it in the classroom.
I have been reading many of our other classmates' blogs and I am interested in what you think about virtual schooling? I think that you and I will share similar views on it since we seem to be on the same page when it comes to flipped classrooms.
Hi Megan and Sam, I do think that future teachers need to be trained in how to use interactive whiteboards. All of the teachers I have talked with seemed to say that they learned how to use their interactive whiteboards by observing other teachers. I would think the companies would provide access to online tutorials or something when schools buy their products, but I have never seen one.
ReplyDeleteI did not research flipped classrooms in my blog post, so it was interesting reading your guys' responses. Are flipped classrooms basically online classes where you attend class organically once a week to get help on the homework and participate in a discussion? I could see that work well for non-traditional students on college campuses who have small children or demanding jobs that make it harder to attend lectures. Honestly, a lot of time I feel like I end up teaching myself the content of my courses at home anyway because a lot of my professors are not organized in their instruction. Also, I feel like a lot of time is wasted teaching content to college students face-to-face considering how many breaks are offered, the time needed to turn in assignments, the time spent socializing, etc., so flipped classrooms may be the solution for college students. I have never taken a flipped class, but I rarely chat with my instructors or ask for help (I prefer communicating through email so I am able to say exactly what I need to say) so maybe flipped classrooms are for me at a college level.
However, I agree that flipped classrooms would not be appropriate for most students with special needs. I feel that students with special needs must have content repeated to them frequently and in many different ways, so having instruction being almost exclusively online or on paper would limit their content input. Also, the majority of students that I work with struggle to read, write and process information, so I could see them become easily frustrated if they were expected to teach themselves content by reading information online or watching a video. I suppose one benefit of having instruction via video is that students can replay the video to review challenging content, an accommodation that is more difficulty provided in a face-to-face classroom. However, children could always record their teachers' lectures and would have the teacher there in-person to review the content, so maybe this benefit of a flipped classroom is not that great.
Taren,
DeleteYou've got the idea of flipped classrooms down! The students are responsible for learning the content at home; whether it is through video tutorials, reading articles, or some other method of instruction. I took a math course here at GVSU that had this flipped classroom style and we were responsible for watching tutorials on YouTube that demonstrated how to solve the problems. We always had a worksheet to take home and complete. We had no idea how to do this worksheet until we watched the videos (and sometimes I STILL didn't understand how to do it even after watching them). This was the only frustrating part for me. If I couldn't figure something out on my own I hated having to wait for an email because I wanted to get my worksheet done during the time that was compatible with my schedule. Having to wait for an email made doing the worksheets inconvenient.
Although I experienced some frustration with the flipped classroom that I was in, I definitely see the benefits and would consider taking another course that was flipped. I really liked being able to work on my homework in class and ask the professor questions directly about whatever I was working on. I think that flipped classrooms really belong in the post-secondary school setting because, again, I agree with you; so much time can be wasted in class, especially when professors are disorganized or give too many breaks. From what you've told me, it sounds like you would enjoy and do well in a flipped classroom! If the opportunity ever arises you should give it a try.
Thank you for the advice! I don't think the COE offers any, but maybe when my career is off and running I will try one. I definitely understand how it would be frustrating to wait for a professor to respond to their email to be able to move on with the assignment. It sounds like your professor should have done a google hangout or something once a week in addition to the organic class to answer questions early on.
DeleteThat actually would have been really helpful! I will have to keep that in mind in case I ever end up trying to do a flipped classroom format someday.
DeleteI have honestly never used google hangout, but from what I have heard it seems to be a good tool.
DeleteThe current problem with flipped classroom is that everyone thinks that putting videos online solves every problem. Well, we've been flipping classrooms for centuries in the sense that many college courses EXPECTED you to READ the chapter BEFORE coming to class. The problem is that just because you've made a video doesn't mean that a) the students are more likely to watch it, and b) the understanding will be greater than if you assigned a reading.
ReplyDeleteSamantha, I'd be curious to see your response to the rest of the articles I included for IWB, which lay out a good argument AGAINST their use.
ReplyDeleteFurther, when you mention learning styles, keep this in mind: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/learning-styles-debunked-there-is-no-evidence-supporting-auditory-and-visual-learning-psychologists-say.html
I hope none of your teachers are still touting this junk science.
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