Students involved in the interactive whiteboard (IWB) evaluation, sponsored by the Centre for British Teachers (CfBT), were interviewed about their perceptions of IWBs. Twelve group interviews (72 students) were conducted between January and Easter. With an interactive whiteboard, primary school students can learn in a way that best fits for them. A smartboard provides access to tools and materials for audio, visual, and kinetic learners to get the most out of each classroom lesson.
Interactive whiteboards have brought significant improvements in the education sector by simplifying the learning processes. The technology has been integrated in all levels of learning including primary school, high school and institutions of higher learning. Though the technology has been around for more than two decades, its use has only grown exponentially over the past few years. An interactive whiteboard can be in the form of a standalone touchscreen computer or a connectable apparatus with touchpad used to control other computers from a projector. The benefits of using interactive whiteboards in the classroom affect both the students and teachers positively. The article below explores some of the benefits of integrating interactive whiteboards in the learning curriculum.
Main Benefits of Interactive Whiteboards in the Classroom Are As Follows:
1. Makes Review or Revision of Lessons More Convenient
One of the greatest benefits of using interactive whiteboards in the classroom is that it allows students to save lessons for later playback and/or review. ezTalks Meetings whiteboard features offers the teacher an opportunity to share screen, text , audio and video files with students in real-time. Students can also record full lessons and share them with friends who weren't able to attend classes. Recorded lessons also provide a more convenient reference point during revision, which makes grasping important points quite easier. That will result in better understanding, quicker learning and improved performance.
2. Makes It Easier for the Teacher to Structure Lessons
With interactive whiteboards, a teacher can easily formulate and plan for the lesson beforehand. He/she can schedule for specific learning tasks like labeling parts of a picture and matching words with their respective meanings. This is where the benefits of interactive whiteboards in the primary school come in handy. Students can understand how to handle naming tasks quite profoundly as the images are displayed right in front of them. While on the hand, teachers will have an easier time delivering on what they have on their lesson plan.
3. Makes the Learning Process More Fun
The days of using dry chalkboards with powdered erasers or whiteboards with inky felt pens are long gone. Nowadays, teachers in learning institutions are using LCD monitors displays together with shared whiteboards to deliver lessons. With such technology in class, every student will be anxious to try out how the board works. That can spur the students'enthusiasm to get involved in learning process using the interactive whiteboards. Images and presentations are delivered in full HD display accompanied by interactive computer capabilities. Students in such learning environment will find syllabus coverage more fun and most of them won't miss school or skip classes.
4. Increases the Level of Engagement between Teachers and Students
Instead on making the often boring one-way presentation, a teacher can use interactive whiteboard to engage every student in class. Whether it's learning vocabulary, pronunciation or exploring a research, students will find a lesson engaging if it integrates text, images, videos and/or audio files. For instance, a teacher can play an audio file to demonstrate the pronunciation of a word displayed on the board. Students will then be given a chance to pronounce other words to see whether they are correct. Use of videos footages in teaching can also trigger students to think outside the conventional classroom environment. That triggers a creative and fresh perspective to learning, which can lead to students contributing in their ideas in class sessions. In the long run, lessons will be more vivid, more engaging and certainly more productive.
School Whiteboard Online
5. Allows Students with Various Disabilities to Learn Better
Each student in a class enjoys learning in different ways. While some are good auditory learners(able to learn better with audio), others are great visual learners. So including text, images, audio and video in a presentation allows everyone, including those with learning disabilities, to enjoy the lesson. Another benefit of using interactive whiteboard in the classroom is that it helps students with hearing impairment to benefit from visual presentation. Those unable to see partially or completely can also learn more about a given topic using audio presentation. Hence the use of interactive whiteboards ensures the learning needs of every student are met sufficiently.
6. Brings Convenience and Flexibility in Learning
With the increasing use of video conferencing systems, many schools have adopted e-learning options in their curriculum. That means students can attend classes from anywhere at any time. ezTalks Meetings provides a robust platform for conducting real-time online classes with several students. The software comes with interactive whiteboards that allow teachers to share notes and other learning tools over a video conference for free. Up to 100 people can participate in a class from different places at the same time, all free of charge. With such a platform, a student can cover the entire syllabus for a given term or semester from the comfort of the home.
7. Saves on Teaching Costs
Both private and government sponsored schools incur a lot of costs each on dry markers, erasers, chalks and even blackboard painting each year. Interactive whiteboards do not need any of these stressful tools. All that's required is an LCD touchscreen display and/or a channel through which the same content can be displayed on other computers. Everyone can connect to the main computer (usually the teacher's) to enjoy an interactive lesson. Most modern classrooms are Wi-Fi enabled, so there's no need to worry about internet connection. It's even not even necessary for students to take notes as the presentation can be saved or recorded for later playback and review.
Class assignments and student performance lists can simply be displayed on the whiteboard for every class member to see. That increases convenience of evaluating students and releasing their results. In the long run the school will save more money while improving the learning environment. On the other hand students will spend less on writing materials as they enjoy class presentations.
Conclusion
The benefits of interactive whiteboards in the classroom are so many that any learning institution can't afford to ignore. Apart from bringing convenience and flexibility in education, use of interactive whiteboards increases teacher-student engagement and boost performance in the long run. Adopting this technology can be great for any school or learning institution because it streamline areas that were a challenge before. While acquiring the interactive whiteboards and related tools might eat into the school's budget, the advantages will be greater in the long run. These whiteboards will not only stimulate learning but will also save on learning materials and inspire performance.
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An interactive whiteboard (which has revolutionised the role of the traditional chalkboard in the classroom) allows for the use and display of digital elements in the classroom. The teacher can manipulate the projected elements on the board by using their finger as a ‘mouse'. Items can be dragged, clicked and copied, and the teacher can also handwrite notes, which can be translated into text and saved.
Interactive Whiteboard Lessons
Interactive whiteboards are a powerful tool in the classroom – they add interactivity and collaboration, and allow for the integration of media content into the lesson while supporting collaborative learning. Used innovatively, they create a wide range of learning opportunities.
