TOPIC 7 DEVICES FOR DISPLAY AND INTERACTION

EXERCISE 7.1 SMART SCREEN INTERFACE CASE STUDY



At my school we have an interactive whiteboard, this board is not one of the Smart touch boards but the Panasonic board. Which requires the user to use a stylus to manipulate the board instead of the hand. I have used both boards and with the Smart board if any body part accidentally makes contact with the board it begins the interactivity of the board, a real problem for large breasted women.

The visual impact of these boards are very engaging for students. The Learning Federation has numerous sites that can be used to teach students in all areas of Key Learning Areas these very visual sites stimulate learners and cater for a variety of learning styles.






image from http://lonewolflibrarian.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/cartoon.jpg


The advantage of using an interactive whiteboard over a projector and a computer are numerous. For starters the interactive whiteboard pages are kept in an archive along the side of the board and at any time during the day you can bring these pages back up and refer back to them or those students who didn't finish their handwriting or maths examples can gain access to the lessons during their lunch break. The teacher can also keep their notes and annotations as an electronic file for later distribution on paper or through a number of electronic formats.

Being in front of the class allows the teacher to still have control, which is lost when you are behind the computer and projector. Also you can call on students to show their understanding to their peers and allows them to experience what it is like to instruct the class. During brainstorming on a topic students can come out and share their thoughts directly onto the board.

The software which is the essential component of an interactive whiteboard enables the teacher to quickly change and reconfigure information, providing opportunities to engage with pupils at a higher level of understanding.

According to a white paper on Interactive Whiteboards and learning students gain the following personal rewards when using the interface of the interactive whiteboard:
Intrinsically students are motivated to demonstrate their understanding in front of their peers.
Extrinsically students are enticed by the "wow factor" of the technology and the enjoyment they get from using the equipment.

How does the Panaboard and Smart Interactive Whiteboard work?
The Panaboard works by displaying the contents of a computer screen onto a large white screen, because the screen is interactive the user is able to control programs directly from the whiteboard. The board is compatible with Windows Applications like Excel, PowerPoint and Word. The electronic pen allows for easy-to-use mouse –like operations and lets the user draw, add annotations, and illustrate on top of the display. The Smart board is similar as it allows the user to use their finger or the coloured pens to control aspects of the board.


reference:
Panasonic whiteboard image accessed 20/10/09 http://www.ivexpress.com.au/whiteboards.php?gclid=CNnR3ouXyp0CFRYhDQodi2ydqw
White paper on Interactive whiteboards and learning http://www2.smarttech.com/NR/rdonlyres/2C729F6E-0A8D-42B8-9B32-F90BE0A746D8/0/Int_Whiteboard_Research_Whitepaper_Update.pdf (accessed 20/10/09)