Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of the Interactive Whiteboard
Description/Experience
Last Friday in class we had a presentation on the interactive whiteboards, which was very informative, but also really fun. I have used interactive whiteboards before, so I imagined this seminar might not teach me too much more on the topic. In my high school all the math rooms had interactive whiteboards, so I had a lot of experience writing on them, and using several applications on the board. The school then decided to get interactive whiteboards for every classroom in the building, even in the music rooms. Since they were funding for every room, the school decided to go with the cheaper alternative than the Smart Boards; the school got Promethean Boards. When I went back to my high school to do my volunteer hours I got to have extensive use of these boards, including the software to make power points for the board. The presenter was very knowledgeable and taught me several new tricks that I can use in the class room.
Application
One lesson I would love to do at the higher levels of elementary school would be a science lesson on elementary physics, including Newton’s laws and Gravity. The presenter demonstrated a very cool interactive game that follows all of our laws of physics. The game is called Crayon Physics. It is a free game up to the first 20 levels which would provide more than enough variation for the students, and after the first 20 levels you have to pay for more. I could see myself teaching a quick lesson on basic physics and ending with some time on the interactive whiteboard.
First, provide some details regarding:
· Learners: This lesson would be for mostly 5th graders, maybe 4th graders in the right setting.
· Learning outcomes: The students will have a basic understanding of why a ball that you throw in the air comes back down and why if one ball hits a ball standing at rest, the ball at rest will start to move.
· Assessment: I would have the game at the end be a form of assessment. I would have every student get some time on the whiteboard, and if they began to learn and adjust they would get points for learning the concept. If the student kept repeating the same mistake over and over, they would receive points but just for participation, whereas the other students who got it right would receive only one or two points more. Students that would not come up to the whiteboard would lose one or two participation points.
A time line for this activity would look similar to the following.
1. Cover basic concepts of physics that could be influential to their everyday lives.
2. Show a quick demonstration in class with playground balls or show a model on the whiteboard.
1. Cover newton's laws
2. Cover GRAVITY
3. Give students a quick demonstration of how to play Crayon Physics
4. let each student try to play a level
Reflection
considering your learning activity described above, write two paragraphs or three for each section below addressing the questions. It may be helpful to keep in mind the followings when reflecting:
1. How well the use of this technology may support your teaching strategies in this activity.
2. How effectively the use of this technology may enhance students' understanding of and learning from your particular content in this activity.
--Pedagogical-Content:
 | Your pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of teaching strategies that are specific to a content area. That is the knowledge about choosing appropriate pedagogies for teaching a particular content Example: Using drill-and-practice to teach math problem solving. This strategy however may not necessarily be effective for other content areas such as teaching speech and drama. |
Now, forget about the technology for a while…..Just tells us about your teaching strategies that you employ in your activity (e.g., analogies, demonstrations, illustrations, examples, explanations, group work, drill-practice, simulations, role-play, lecturing, self-guided learning, inquiry-based learning, problem based learning or etc.). Specifically:
· One strategy I would use would be doing a demonstration with playground ball. By using playground balls not only am I demonstrating a concept to them, but I'm showing them in a format they would understand. Hopefully by bringing it to their level it'd seem more meaningful to them.
· Some pre-conceptions that students might have coming into this lessons would be that they know what happens in each demonstration but they don't know why it happens. Some students of a younger grade might not understand the concepts behind this basic physics, and might just accept “that it happens because it happens”. I do feel that many 5th graders would feel very motivated in this lesson because of the real life application and the game at the end.
--Technological-Pedagogical:
 | Your technological pedagogical knowledge refers to your understanding of technologies for particular learning tasks, your ability to choose technologies based on its fitness, your knowledge of pedagogical strategies, and your ability to apply those strategies for use of technologies Example: Selecting Edmodo/facebook for facilitating student generated debate. Edmodo here is the technology that supports the main pedagogy-group discussion/debate. |
In the previous section, you talked about your instructional strategies. Keeping these strategies you stated in mind, now tell us how the technology is used in your activity. Specifically:
· The biggest strategy I could use with the interactive whiteboard would be to use it for note, mini demonstrations other than the playground balls, and the game at the end as a reinforcer. The interactive whiteboard can be used in many different ways, so it is very practical to use it in almost every application of your lesson.
· One classroom management strategy I would have to keep my eyes out for would be background activities. Yes, I need to watch the students up at the whiteboard, but I would also have to keep a vigilant eye out for any students acting out or not paying attention.
--Technological Pedagogical Content:
 | Your technological pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of how teaching and learning from content may change when technology used and is our knowledge about selecting technologies that suits, support, and enhances teaching strategies and learning activities in your particular content area. It is your understanding of teaching strategies to effectively teach the particular content and help student conceptual difficulties in this content by meaningfully incorporating technologies. Example: Using a flash card app on iPad as a means to aid students memorize words and definitions in language learning. iPad app is here chosen as a tool to support the pedagogy around instant feedback, quick repetition, and individualized learning. These are some effective strategies used in language learning content area. |
Now, let’s focus on the content you’re teaching in your activity. Think about your decisions to incorporate this technology and the teaching strategies in relation to your particular content area. Tell us specifically about:
· One way I have found, that is practical, to incorporate all three of these categories, is the demonstrations, and games. Students really enjoy coming up to the board so they find it fun to come up to the front and participate in a demonstration or play a game. So my TPC would be both a demonstration on the interactive whiteboard in addition to the playground balls, and the final game as an assessment.
· The game at the end of the lesson would be the biggest way to reinforce the material while motivating the students. Although I could find some way to make a game that wouldn't require the interactive whiteboard, the whiteboard with Crayon Physics would be much more interactive, entertaining, and instructional to the students.
