The Answer Sheet - Willingham: The unrealized promise of whiteboards

What is perhaps most remarkable in this story is that enormous sums of money are being spent on [electronic whiteboards] (and other) technologies without correspondingly thorough and thoughtful professional development.

In many districts, the technologies have simply been plopped into teachers’ classrooms with minimal or no support. Little wonder that they are not being used as effectively as they could be.

via voices.washingtonpost.com

[posted by Brent]

Comments

[robert dixon]

I wonder if K-L has them.

If so, has anyone from the math department indicated that they make a positive academic difference?

Bob D

[Frank Noschese]

I was one of the first in the district to get a SmartBoard. It does not make bad lessons into good ones. The effect is more like an amplifier: good lessons can become better, but bad lessons will become worse. Both articles (Willingham's and McCrummen's) are right. But simple technology training (as what most districts provide) is not the answer. It must be discipline-specific. Due to the nature of the subjects, science classes and foreign language classes use SmartBoards in different ways. As Willingham rightly suggests, home-grown professional development is the way to go. The Smart Exchange website allows teachers to post and download lessons. YouTube and TeacherTube have SmartBoard (and other technology) training videos made by other teachers, too.

But McCrummen had an important point: the boards can reinforce poor pedagogical practices (AKA "death by Powerpoint" -- another discussion altogether) just as easily as it can enhance already engaging lessons.

[Wyatt Cadley]

Hi Bob,

I'll tell you from my own experiences as a former high school student that the KL smartboards were only helpful when:

a) The teacher using the smartboard was technologically competent
b) The teacher using the smartboard knew when the smartboard was relevant to lesson plans
c) The teacher using the smartboard was teaching a subject (like math, physics, or economics) which is "smartboard friendly" (by that I mean that the subject has an interactive and simultaneously conceptual component)

I've had cases where the smartboards proved to be an excellent, helpful, and worthwhile investment; and I've also had situations where the smartboards were a waste of money. Some teachers probably could have benefited from some more building level support and training, but I think the bigger issue is that some teachers who requested and subsequently received smartboards should have never asked for smartboards in the first place. A history lecture is a history lecture regardless of whether or not you have the most up to date technology. Of course in these types of conversations we tend to only focus on secondary education. Personally, I really want to see what the elementary school teachers think about the smartboards and how they incorporate the technology into their lesson plans.

Thanks- Wyatt

P.S. Listen to Noschese, he used his Smartboard better than anyone else in the building

[robert dixon]

So gentleman: should a district spend its money on smartboards or would the money be better spent elsewhere?

Bob D

[Wyatt Cadley]

In my opinion, if the teachers are prepared and equipped to use the smartboards properly then they are a good investment. If not, then districts would be better off spending the money elsewhere.

[Frank Noschese]

Each room should at least have a computer projector and a decent set of speakers. In most rooms at the HS, the teacher's computer screen is enlarged on the TV. The TVs are too small and have such poor resolution that it is impossible to show anything meaningful to the entire class.

[Briefing Book]

Hey, it's Budget Vote Day!

Has anyone seen the exit polls?

[Wyatt Cadley]

We should get a smartboard for this blog so we can play with exit polls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw19EWM-Bgg

[robert dixon]

Frank:

Sad to hear that one of the wealthiest school districts in the world has smartboards but crappy TVs.

Who is in charge here?

Bob D

[the teachers have to be capable of using them as a teaching tool.]

Hi Wyatt

I just watched John King demonstrate the magic board which I assume is a version of the smart board. It would seem to me that they would be an asset to a teacher in helping students better understand a subject and stimulate their interest. Like you said-the teachers have to be capable of using them as a teaching tool. Watching John King-it does not seem like rocket science to me.

Bob D

[Laura Atwell]

Interesting discussion. When the district originally ordered the smartboards teachers who wanted one had to commit to staff development over the summer--a good idea! Unfortunately, the days of buying smartboards are over. Teachers who request them now are not getting them. I am still using a chalk board in my classroom! I'm hoping to upgrade to a whiteboard and a projector in the near future. As a social studies teacher I do think that there are some lessons that would benefit from a smartboard, but a white board and projector would probably take care of 80% of what I'd need. One of the beauties of the smartboard is in the way notes can be shared with students using e-chalk. I know teachers who are doing amazing things with that combination. In short, no matter how promising the technology, training and sharing of ideas are key!
BTW, the comment on the quality of the TVs is right on. They are 10+ years old and the resolution is very poor.

[Frank Noschese]

You have to separate the hardware from the software. The magic behind the CNN Magic Board is the software -- a huge database of political and financial information overlayed on a map. It runs on a computer. But instead of sitting at a PC and pointing and clicking with a mouse, the commentators are standing at a large touch screen monitor and pointing and clicking with their fingers. While the CNN Magic Board is cool -- how would a teacher use it in a lesson that engaged all students? Is the physical board itself (the hardware) essential to the lesson? Maybe -- a teacher could write on the map screen a take a snapshot of it for later, then have the class compare/contrast several snapshots showing different data (voting vs. forclosures, urban vs. rural, etc.) Or, maybe not -- the teacher might just need a computer projector so everyone can see the screen. In my opinion, the real issue is not about learning how to use the hardware/software. It's designing the engaging compare/contrast lesson in the first place. The lesson should drive the technology, not the other way around.

[the teachers have to be capable of using them as a teaching tool.]

Frank:

Thanks-your last sentence makes sense.
In that vein, could it be that when a text book is a adopted by a district for a course smartboard software relative to the course could be included for the teacher? Then (s)he could draw different data to the screen as the course progressed? I think that is what CNN did for King. They loaded it with all kinds of data relative to that specific election. Then as the evening progressed he could pull up on the screen what data was needed to help him tell(teach) the viewers about what was going on at the moment. Real cool!

Bob D

[Frank Noschese]

A lot of stuff is already on the internet for free, so buying software isn't a problem. (And textbook companies aren't making interactive whiteboard software yet).

The PhET website has 85 free science simulations. Although they run on any computer, they look more impressive (albiet teacher-centered) on a SmartBoard. Here's a video of a teacher using the circuit simulator on a SmartBoard.

Here's another video of the Phun simulation on a SmartBoard.

These simulations are not pre-packaged lesson plans. They are open-ended for inquiry and exploration. Using them is easy. Knowing how to use them to maximize student learning is much harder!