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Increasing and accelerating technologies have meant interactive whiteboards play a crucial role in our classrooms today. This technology allows students to basically ‘interact’ with the whiteboard at the front of the class.
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Technology enhances teaching, thus enhances learning also. IWBs have drastically changed the learning environment for the better. This increase in technology has taken over classrooms providing enjoyable learning experiences for students and teachers. However, do IWBs promote intellectual quality?
Intellectual quality refers to pedagogy-orientated environment where thorough understandings of concepts and ideas are made. intellectual quality is derived from what students learn based on what they have been taught. IWBs aid the teaching process, hence support learning. The IWB promotes intellectual quality as it “provides the class with content that can be easily manipulated.” (Kent, 2008). IWBs allow teachers to teach interactive lessons using a variety of tools and activities accessible with IWBs. I believe this interaction creates engagement with content and students are willing to participate and learn (often without realising they are learning). I believe they are revolutionising intellectual quality as they provide visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles so children can learn with what style best suits them. IWBs are for more effective for students so they do not rope learn content as they are actively learning. It promotes higher order thinking, allows children to interact with content, they can express themselves and be creative and learn in fun and engaging ways.
Some of the ways to learn using IWBS in the classroom are:
- Learning objects
- Instant access to the internet for whole class to see
- Sorting, ordering, labelling activities
- Puzzles and games
- Watching videos
- Answer questions
- And more…
If the teacher is prepared and has effectively scaffolded, then IWBs are the perfect resource for teaching and supporting relationships with content.
The only disadvantage with IWBs I believe is that it can be hard to differentiate for the spectrum of learning abilities. Students who struggle with concepts and students who are working beyond concepts often will be learning at the same level when the teacher uses the IWB. Who does this then promote intellectual quality for?
However, in comparison to a teacher reading from a text aloud or children copying notes from the board, I strongly believe an IWB far more effectively promotes intellectual quality. From experience as a student, using an IWB definitely engaged me as a learner and I found that I was inclined to interact with the content. As a teacher, I know that using an IWB will have a positive impact to learning in the classroom.
REFERENCES:
Kent, P. (2008). Interactive whiteboards: A practical guide for primary teachers.Australia: Macmillan Teacher Resource
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