[Yr7-10it] Tools for Interactivity (Was: Missed the boat?)

[Phil Callil]

 Interesting to see how like minds are thinking....

If I were to summarize the feeling "around the table", it seems that from our ICT perspective (a considered one at that), we are somewhat sceptical of the perceived advantages of IWBs.  My comments concur with the general sentiment - they are very expensive and in the hands of the wrong practitioner, will be an expensive aid to "chalk and talk" teachers.  Then again, laptops are an even more expensive solution, even more so with tablets but at least the technology is in the hands of the students.

However, as a teacher concerned primarily with Yr 5-8,  I can see real advantages for motivation and engagement for students in classes that productively use IWBs.  This is especially so for K-6 classes because these teachers "own" the room and don't switch rooms - primary teachers are therefore more likely to be creative and proficient in IWB use because this is their territory and so ownership is key. Contrast this to the secondary model with lots of teachers who move from room to room and therefore have no ownership or responsibility for the room.  In this secondary scenario, unless every room has an IWB and training and Admin direction is abundant, it won't work as effectively in the secondary model.

Student motivation and engagement will increase in the primary model but student skills in ICT will not improve.  I keep coming back to why we are here - we all have a passion and belief in the productive use of ICT but even more important than that, our goal is to improve student learning - not just student ICT skills.  Of course, student learning improves with better ICT skills but students themselves can usually differentiate between activities that improve their learning as opposed to activities that only improve their computer skills.

So, while it may be laptops or IWBS, the web 2.0 type apps that Paul mentions might just tip things in favour of being more student centred.  To me, netbooks with 9 inch screens are just not going to cut it.  They are too small and too underpowered.  Maybe a 10 inch screen with a bit more grunt and the same price is the optimum... but that is another thread.

Best wishes

Phil   





Phil 




 

Phil Callil
Faculty Head IT 
Xavier College
9855-4163
www.xavier.vic.edu.au

Vice President VITTA
www.vitta.org.au/

iChat: pcallil at mac.com   Skype: pcallil000









>>> "Dr Paul Chandler" <paul.chandler at une.edu.au> 03/11/09 6:38 AM >>> 
Folks,

In contributing my 2c worth, I'll probably come away with a case of
foot- in- mouth, but there's a couple of points which I think are worth
picking up on.  I'm writing from the perspective of a classroom teacher
(which I was until the end of last year), not from my present position of
being a researcher.

. to me, IWBs are glorified data projectors.  To accompany a
data- projection, the operator (teacher or student) can do their
song- and- dance act 'at' the point of projection rather than at the
keyboard
. in an effort to be 'converted' to the benefit of this, I have attend
several conference presentations and workshops by teachers on IWBs.  I
have been disappointed.
. nevertheless, there are a few functions of some of the IWB software (not
the board itself) which do allow for greater interactivity which is
otherwise hard to replicate; a _few_ that I remember being impressed with,
but can't remember the detail now.
. there is _serious_ research into IWBs in the classroom (not by any team
that I am involved with), and I know that there are documented cases where
the teacher's interactive teaching has improved because of the technology

In all, I think its a mixed bag of outcomes; just unfortunate that it's an
expensive mixed bag.

What I have a passion for, though, is being able to genuinely increase the
interactivity in a classroom which might otherwise consist of students
operating 'in their own space with their own PC/laptop'.  What I think is
worth discussing is the software (and maybe hardware) and the
teacher- tactics which can help vitalise teaching/learning from this
perspective.  If tablet PCs or IWBs are on the list, so be it.  For
myself, I would nominate:
-  vnc or other 'throw the student's screen onto the projector from where
they are' technologies
-  moodle workshop
-  coword and copowerpoint (http://cooffice.ntu.edu.sg/coword/)
-  blogging (and related technologies)
-  creation of wikis

Other suggested inclusions?  Or comments?


--  
Dr Paul Chandler
Research Fellow
'Multimedia grammatical design and authoring pedagogy' (Kahootz) project,
School of Education, University of New England

located at Australian Children's Television Foundation
145 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, 3065
e- mail: paul.chandler at une.edu.au
Ph: (03) 9419 8800
Fax: (03) 9419 0660
Skype: paul.d.chandler

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