As I was droning on in a meeting the other day about what we are doing in technology, one parent stopped me and said: “I don’t want to appear uninformed, but what are these “smart” boards that you keep talking about?”
It was a great question, and the kind of one that educators need to hear more often. We tend to get so immersed in our own world of jargon that we sometimes forget to stop and make sure that our intended audience knows what on earth we are talking about!
SMART Boards (actually a brand name that has become synonymous with the product - like we used to always say “xerox machine”) are interactive digital whiteboards that work in concert with the teacher’s computer to run simulations, store written discussions, and provide a myriad of hands-on learning experiences for students. Over the past year, with the support of a local reinsurance company and our PTA, we have installed eleven of these electronic marvels in our P5/6 and MYP classrooms.
But, does the addition of these kinds of resources guarantee a better educational experience? The answer is, “not necessarily.” As one of our teachers has said: “it’s not about technology, it’s about learning.” This should be the mantra of every classroom in every school. There is no point in investing in interactive digital “smart” boards or LCD projectors if they are only going to be used as 21st century blackboards and overheads. That is not good enough. What needs to be happening, has to begin with our academic vision of the school. We have to ask the questions: “How can we enhance student learning and academic performance with the aid of technology? What could we do more effectively with technological support than we could do without it?” and, “How do we make students and teachers see the available technology not as a gimmick, but rather as a stepping-stone to take learning to the next level?”
We have recently seen the provision of teacher and student workstations in every classroom in our school; the installation of LCD projectors in most rooms; the beginnings of an interactive digital board initiative; and, with the support of our corporate partners at KPMG we have been able to establish two mobile computer lab “laptop carts” to provide greater flexibility to teachers.
However, the point of all this innovation is not to simply “decorate” the school with technology, but rather to continue to use it to make us a better school. Many schools pride themselves on having a smart board in every room, or requiring every family to buy their child a laptop. They might make for great marketing, but ineffective use of those resources – while good visual p.r. when prospective parents or visitors glance in the class – can impede rather than enhance the learning process. There is no practical reason for stretching limited technological resources to ensure that every teacher in every class has her or his students sitting at a keyboard. What makes more sense is to focus our resources where they will have the greatest impact. In the best schools, students excel in the use of technology because teachers who “get it” are given the support and the infrastructure they need to push forward the frontiers of learning. It would appear to be far more effective to guarantee that every student has at least one exceptional on-going experience with technology in her or his timetable rather that to try to provide a series of mediocre ones.
It was a great question, and the kind of one that educators need to hear more often. We tend to get so immersed in our own world of jargon that we sometimes forget to stop and make sure that our intended audience knows what on earth we are talking about!
SMART Boards (actually a brand name that has become synonymous with the product - like we used to always say “xerox machine”) are interactive digital whiteboards that work in concert with the teacher’s computer to run simulations, store written discussions, and provide a myriad of hands-on learning experiences for students. Over the past year, with the support of a local reinsurance company and our PTA, we have installed eleven of these electronic marvels in our P5/6 and MYP classrooms.
But, does the addition of these kinds of resources guarantee a better educational experience? The answer is, “not necessarily.” As one of our teachers has said: “it’s not about technology, it’s about learning.” This should be the mantra of every classroom in every school. There is no point in investing in interactive digital “smart” boards or LCD projectors if they are only going to be used as 21st century blackboards and overheads. That is not good enough. What needs to be happening, has to begin with our academic vision of the school. We have to ask the questions: “How can we enhance student learning and academic performance with the aid of technology? What could we do more effectively with technological support than we could do without it?” and, “How do we make students and teachers see the available technology not as a gimmick, but rather as a stepping-stone to take learning to the next level?”
We have recently seen the provision of teacher and student workstations in every classroom in our school; the installation of LCD projectors in most rooms; the beginnings of an interactive digital board initiative; and, with the support of our corporate partners at KPMG we have been able to establish two mobile computer lab “laptop carts” to provide greater flexibility to teachers.
However, the point of all this innovation is not to simply “decorate” the school with technology, but rather to continue to use it to make us a better school. Many schools pride themselves on having a smart board in every room, or requiring every family to buy their child a laptop. They might make for great marketing, but ineffective use of those resources – while good visual p.r. when prospective parents or visitors glance in the class – can impede rather than enhance the learning process. There is no practical reason for stretching limited technological resources to ensure that every teacher in every class has her or his students sitting at a keyboard. What makes more sense is to focus our resources where they will have the greatest impact. In the best schools, students excel in the use of technology because teachers who “get it” are given the support and the infrastructure they need to push forward the frontiers of learning. It would appear to be far more effective to guarantee that every student has at least one exceptional on-going experience with technology in her or his timetable rather that to try to provide a series of mediocre ones.
Teaching and learning is the ultimate interactive experience. Whether or not it involves the use of technology is far less important than the extent to which it engages, challenges, and meets the needs of our kids.
That is why, as much as we have invested in technology in our classrooms, our real priority is to continue to staff them with “state of the art” teachers. They’re the “smart” in smart boards!
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