Update: June 2003 |
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Important developments have taken place since our initial report in July 2001. The DfES has funded an interactive whiteboard pilot in several LEAs. A free CD ROM of materials from the pilot will be published in Autumn 2003. The cause of the interactive whiteboard has also been helped by the range of teaching software which may now be purchased with eLCs. RM's Easiteach is a leading example. The pattern of whiteboard use in schools has changed. In our pilot, most teachers felt that the board, having been purchased by the school, should be a mobile resource. It should be available to all teachers to use in their classrooms. The negative aspects were difficulties in setting up, and the hazard of trailing leads. It is far more common now for the whiteboard to be a static fixture. The ceiling-mounted projector overcomes the problem of shadow, especially when pupils use - a major drawback identified in our early evaluation. There is a small and growing number of schools in Kent where a whiteboard has been installed in every classroom. Lindsay Roberts, a Leading ICT Teacher who co-ordinates ICT at Pluckley Primary, comments that there is a feeling of ownership by the class, and greater efficiency for the teacher. There have been advances in whiteboard presentation software. SMART Notebook now has templates, including grids, graph paper and lines for handwriting. Teachers can also make their own templates. In our evaluation, the Notebook was an under-used feature, no doubt because the focus in the early stages was on basic familiarity and logistics rather than development. At Kennington Junior school, which has a Promethean ActivBoard in every classroom, teachers routinely set up lessons in advance in the flip chart. In mathematics lessons, the square grid enables the teacher to show the recording format exactly. The learning objective may be copied from page to page. All teachers are convinced of the value of being able to review previous workings. The whiteboard is used to enhance the lesson, without allowing ICT to dominate. Teachers are finding that the whiteboard may generally be used to support any lesson. Presentations include aims, information and pictures, including scanned pages from books. There may be a blank page, for the teacher to model the task. Teachers are finding the whiteboard software more flexible and easier to use than PowerPoint. In preparing the flip chart the teacher must think through the development of the lesson in detail. This takes time, but significantly improves the quality of the lesson. The teacher has a resource which can be used again.
New (and less well-known) SMART Notebook features Selected words may be dragged onto another page in the flip chart window. With your class, you can brainstorm words, and drag them onto other pages. For this to work, don't write too close together. The Screen Capture tool can take an image from ANY window and copy directly into the Notebook. It is an excellent way to capture details from web pages or other applications. Click the camera, and the Screen Capture tool will remain on top while you view another application. You may copy annotations straight into Word, as a picture which can then be moved round. You can use this feature to incorporate your own drawings into Word. You can also save annotations into PowerPoint. To do this, make sure Word or PowerPoint is open. Select the picture (or text) and drag down to the Word or PowerPoint button on the task bar. Hover long enough for the window to open. Without letting go of the left mouse button, move up into the window and release. This moves the object out of Notebook. To take a copy of the object, first drag the object a little way with Ctrl held down. It is easy to go forward and back through PowerPoint slides. Touch the board, then touch slightly to the right to go forward. Touch slightly to the left to go back. You can save in HTML, enabling you to put good work straight onto your site. You may also now record everything you have done. The presentation, with sound, is saved as a video file. When replayed, you may pause, annotate a frame and save to the Notebook. There are a range of templates, clock faces, grids, graphs lined paper or music paper. You may create and save your own. You may also import straight from a scanner. This is a popular feature, enabling you to share a page from a book with the whole class.
The default 'simple toolbar' in Notebook isn't really helpful. We recommend you turn off the simple toolbar, for the full range of tools. To cancel, click View on the menu bar. It is worth registering your SmartBoard to qualify for updates and free downloads. Register at www.smarttech.com Visit www.matrixeducation.co.uk for free curriculum materials. Matrix also have Interactive Essentials, a suite of software authored in Flash to support Numeracy. Curriculum Online has been applied for. Smart Ideas is free to registered users, including templates. This may be used to create structured, multi-level flow charts and mind maps.
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Changes since 2001 