Thanks Fabian. By viewing your blog, finally I got some ideas on how to update my blog which seems very empty and dull without any information that I could share with my course mates. Actually I am confused and blurred on what I should write on my blog. Now, I have clear picture on what to do. Fabian, you deserve the praises from Dr RM. Well Done!
In the past classes, I did learn on the Interactive White Board (IWB). I enjoyed the class very much because I tried to use IWB board with the assistance from Sharil Sir. He had guided us very well during the class and showed step by step all the functions that is available on the IWB.
The conclusion on this learning that I could made is students will enjoy they class as they practice hands-on on the topic teach by their teacher rather than just being a passive listener. IWB encourages an ‘eyes up’ rather than ‘eyes down’ culture. The board helps teachers to see that their students are with them mentally and physically, and not lost somewhere in their own world. The students are attractive with the multi-color of words and even clearer words.
Beside that, teacher will go to class with empty-handed. Teachers just have to bring their laptops and thumb drive for the lessons. No more heavy text or reference books to the class. Teachers just have to well- prepared for the class. This meaning that teachers will have plenty of time for his/her lessons plan preparation.
In the class, teacher annotates the screen. Focus more on the discussion part. Thus, they spend less time with their back to the students writing on the board. Teacher will spend more time face-to-face with students and can deliver more good explanation to the students.
Now, I can write with my scrabble on the board. Because the IWB has the ability to convert it into a presentable text. Also can do spelling corrections and list sorting in any sequence or grouping that I want.
I also can save all my exercises and notes to be given to the next class. In the past I used to write the exercise again and again in every class that I teach. For example, if I have to teach 4 English classes, I have to write the exercises on the blackboard for all the classes. At the end of the day, I will have a terrible hand pain. Now, with IWB, I won’t face this type of problem. Yahooooo!, what a relief. IWB save me from the hell. He…he… Another problem that may arise, I don’t think that every school has IWB. I should not get too ambitious to use IWB in my future school especially if the school doesn’t provide one.
For my comprehension exercises, I can use video to let students watch a selected scene from the movie followed by comprehension questions. Thus, avoid students to read lengthy text or passage.
I can teach students on how to find information from the internet. Students will have self-learning and conducive learning environment. As a teacher I should guide them in finding abundant information from the net and students should actively engage in the class activities by searching the necessary information for their lessons.
Furthermore, for my Geography lessons, I can easily draw the bubble diagrams or cloud diagrams by using IWB and present it in the class. This type of teaching will make learning easier. They will be able to remember over-whelming theories which is in their lessons. The students will enjoy the class as their lessons are interactive.
Problems that I came across while using IWB.
I can’t use the pen properly. I should use it carefully as the pen doesn’t read joined up and cursive writing, so every letter need to written in a proper manner.
I should always watch out the movement of my hands.
The board can go into hibernation mode and automatically ‘turn off’. I have to wake it up again to continue using it. It’s not a big problem but it consumes time.
When I am writing on the board, my shadow will fall on the screen which will block the view for the students. At times, the shadow on the screen can be disconcerting and confuses me while I writing.
When I view data using the internet, the pages tend to hang frequently. It will disrupt the flow of my teaching.
The functions are limited. I have to download from other software to make my presentations more creative.
Last but not least, the world would be like hell to me if I’m asked to use the normal white board or black board. Once I get used to using the IWB, I won’t switch to the normal board.
Prepared By Rasheeda Kamal
