In his article “Current Trends in Educational Technology,” Thornburg discusses the transformations that are taking place in society as a result of new technologies. He provides a variety of examples in which he shares how a new technology was shaping society, as well as any problems associated with that technology. He then proposes various ways to make these new technologies better. Depending on the perspective and how the term is used, emergent technology can have a number of meanings. I think that emergent technology is best described as technology adopted by the majority that is used for our personal use. Dr. Thornburg’s (2008) definition of emergent technology as being emergent when we are made aware of its options and can use it for our own personal use. I think that this has a bit of truth to it as well. However, what about those who learn about technology that is past emergent but it’s there first time hearing about it or using it. Sometimes, the technology may become emergent in a different location before others begin to learn about it. Therefore, before someone can learn to use a piece of technology for his/her own personal use, they have to know about the technology.
A current technology that has emerged in the last few years that shapes learning and productivity in my industry is the SMART Interactive whiteboard. SMART Interactive whiteboards were put into each classroom at the beginning of last school year within my district. The SMART board streamlines the teaching experience by enabling teachers to engage students with interactive lessons while simultaneously accessing and controlling all of the classroom technology (SMART, 2010). The SMART board allows teachers to write in digital ink with our fingers or a pen, as well as interact with applications and save notes. In addition, SMART (2010) interactive whiteboard systems come up with SMART Notebook collaborative learning software. This software sets the standard for creating, delivering, and managing interactive lessons within a single application.
Initially, all teachers who wanted a SMART board in their classroom had to participate in the SMART training sessions. However, eventually the technology plan for the county implemented the use of SMART boards into every classroom. Therefore, everyone ended up taking the SMART training sessions. However, there are some teachers who were hesitant to implement this technology into their daily lessons. First, they were afraid of breaking or messing something up on the board. Next, they had not received enough training to implement the SMART board into their lessons that also included active engagement for the students. Last, some teachers felt that this board was something new to add to a long list of things already given to them to use in the classroom. Some teachers felt that there was nothing wrong with their old ways of teaching and getting students involved in the work.
However, as far as today’s society and the constant changes in technology, we, as teachers have to keep student actively engaged for them to learn. Worksheets and textbooks are not the cure to this problem. To actively get students engaged, they have to be able to move around and talk. With the SMART board, it is easier to get students engaged and to show demonstrations of what is being learned. The SMART board has surpassed the use of televisions in the classrooms. I haven’t found anything that I can’t do on my SMART board. With its touch recognition and smart response question clickers, the smart board can be used in any industry. SMART boards are used all over the world in lots of different career fields and for lots of different activities. These boards are very heavy duty and easy to navigate. The smart board provides lots of different uses, providing effective use for many industries. The interactive SMART board makes it easy for any organization to create all work using just one, single application. The only problem with the SMART boards is the size. Staff did not have the problem of setting up the interactive board as district technician took care of making sure the board was hooked to a desktop or laptop. Most of the staff used the projector with the whiteboard also, some classrooms don’t’ have blinds with two black out room. As far as more critical problems are concerned, teachers in my district have no complaints.
References/Links:
SMART Interactive Whiteboard Link: www.smarttech.com
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). What is emerging technology? Author: Dr. David Thornburg.
SMART. (2010). Smart technologies. Retrieved from http://www.smarttech.com/us/Solutions/Education+Solutions
I have to agree with your post that SMARTboard technology has redefined the classroom. With attention spans of our students decreasing itis imperative that we create an engaging environment that can compete with all the technology components our students interact with on a daily basis, outside of the classroom. I think it is ironic that you find the same challenges with training in your district. We recently received SMARTboards in my building and although many of the teachers that asked for one are excited to use them, they really have no idea how to integrate the board into their tool bag and need more training. Then we have those that resent training because it takes more of their time and feelt they are already too busy. How can we implement technology with all levels of technology users while not feelign overwhelmed?
ReplyDeleteWhile I chose to blog on the Virtual Learning Environment VLE), interactive whiteboards (IWBs) such as the SmartBoard was my choice for purposes of our project.
ReplyDeleteYou blogged that "The SMART board has surpassed the use of televisions in the classrooms." Other technologies that it "has surpassed" are 16mm movie projectors, slide projectors, and transparency overhead projectors.
Nice blog.
I am very envious of the fact that you have the use of SMART Technology! At a previous school that I worked at there was a SMART Board that could be checked out from the computer lab for use in the classrooms. At my current school we are without a SMART Board. We possess all the necessary components to use this piece of technology, projectors and laptops; the school has never used any of the monies that we receive for this type of purchase. What would you suggest as a selling point to convince the current and team and administrator to purchase SMART Board for our school?
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteGood presentation! As a retired teacher, I look forward to hearing about how you and others who are still in the classroom use this and other new tools. It's very exciting.
I love the social aspects of learning that are being developed by technologies like Smart Boards. It just seems like a nature way to learn.
Cyndy
@ Suzanne, I think as teachers, we can work together within our buildings. I’m sure that there are things that I know about the SMART board that my partner teacher may not know. However, there may be things that she knows that I may not know. If we all work together with our different classroom resources and show different things that we use in the classroom, we can all implement the technology until we reach a level with which we are all comfortable.
ReplyDelete@ Jesus, thanks for mentioning the other technologies that the SMART board has surpassed. It has definitely surpassed the use of overhead projectors. Students can see everything when it is on the SMART board. It is much easier to do presentations now rather than trying to place the overhead somewhere in the room and making sure that it projects the information as big as possible.
@ Erika, I believe that my district used some type of technology grant or something like that. But, I do know that having a SMART board in every classroom was in our district’s school improvement plan for technology. Your school should look at other schools and how they are implementing the board. It may show them some of the extra benefits to having the board as opposed to not having one.
@ Cyndy, I love using my SMART board. I think that if I ever left this district and went to one without SMART boards, I would be a little lost. I’ve become very spoiled and dependent upon my board. It’s easier to give students the information they need and it cuts down on the use of paper.