Right now, the entire educational system in the United States of America is going through a period of change. Much of the credit in this case needs to be accorded to the various audiovisual (AV) and information and communications technology (ICT) tools being made available to various educational institutions by the different organizations that are doing some sterling work in the domain. The interactive whiteboards are one of the major contributors in this regard. Some of the other important names in this regard may be mentioned as below:
- Audience response systems
- Touch screens
- Visualizers
- Summative and formative assessment tools
- Projectors
- Various audiovisual solutions
Greater Popularity of Interactive Whiteboards
Out of all these tools, the interactive whiteboards have become the most popular. These are highly-motivational tools and are dedicated to helping the students improve. The various audiovisual, and information and communication tools that come with them only serve to enhance their appeal for the teacher and student community. In fact, if a finger needed to be put on a resource that changed the very face of education in the United States of America then it would have to be the interactive whiteboards. Such is the impact they have made!
How can interactive whiteboards help in learning?
These are wonderful resources that are capable of changing the very manner in which education is disseminated by teachers and grasped by students. With an interactive whiteboard a lecture that would otherwise appear to be mundane and full of drudgery can turn into a process, which encourages a lot of participation by the students and thus makes it fun for the students. With the help of these devices students are able to create and deliver lessons that engage the students and motivate them to learn more. The same can be said of educational training sessions and presentations that are delivered with the help of the interactive whiteboards.
Read “How interactive whiteboards have made classrooms a more dynamic space”.
How do they help in digital learning?
There are various ways in which the digital whiteboards can help in digital learning. These devices are rather easy to operate, which makes them just like any other normal whiteboard. They score high on the scales of user compatibility and are even capable of attracting teachers who are otherwise averse to using technology.
How do they promote integrated teaching and e-learning?
The interactive whiteboards are great when it comes to phenomena such as e-learning and integrated teaching. By using these devices teachers are able to assimilate presentation data and then use it in their lessons to make them more attractive and interesting for the students. They can also be used to gather images from the net, graphs from spreadsheets, data from word documents and better still, all these can be customized in such a way so as to make them worth the while for students.
The small matter of interoperability
These digital whiteboards also happen to be interoperable. This means they can work with other audiovisual and ICT tools as well. The list includes visualizers, audience response systems, projectors, and graphic tablets to name a few. With the aid of these devices students are able to learn much better and assimilate information in a much less time.
Encouragement for group learning
Interactive whiteboards also encourage learning in groups. Students can use these whiteboards and give their answers or navigate between various web pages and windows. At times, they can also make their own contribution to the study material. Since the approach behind these devices is centred towards helping learners the entire classroom is able to view and then solve various problems. This is similar to what they would do in their personal computers (PCs).
Active participation of students
The digital whiteboards have in-built interactive learning software that comprises presentation tools and galleries that contain innumerable educational images that can be helpful in coming up with online tests, quick feedback, and opinion polls. This is how these devices help in promoting active participation of students.
Read more on “How To Make The Most Of Interactive Whiteboards?”
The health benefits
Apart from the obvious educational benefits, the interactive whiteboards have their health benefits as well. For starters, they help to reduce the strain put on students’ eyes. These devices use tools such as electronic markers and dry erase pens instead of the conventional chalks that can trigger breathing problems among students suffering from asthma.