Smart Boards in the Classroom

The topic I'm choosing to write about is Interactive Whiteboards which are also known as "Smart Boards." Smart Boards are becoming a very useful tool in the classroom and they have many benefits that regular whiteboards or chalkboards can't provide. Smart Boards are so great because they allow the teacher to use many tools to help the lesson get across. For example, the teacher can highlight important information in an already finished powerpoint to enforce the point even more and even add more notes on a presentation that was already completed. The Smart Board can also be a great way to have the students interact with the lessons. Teachers can have students come up and write ideas on the Smart Boards or circle points in a lesson they find most important. The Smart Boards can also be good for group work. Each group could share their ideas using the Smart Boards so everyone will be able to see and share ideas together. I think that Smart Boards have many strengths and that within some time they will become present in every classroom. The new technology that the Smart Boards provide can only aid the teaching process by making things easier for the teacher, which in the end will give them more time to actually interact with the students on the lesson instead of just lecturing all the time. The only weakness that the Smart Boards have is that at first they may be difficult to work with. I think that the teachers will have to become familiar with all the tools Smart Boards provide and become comfortable using them before the benefits are realized. Learning how to use the Smart Boards may take some time, but I think it is all worth it in the end.