The transformation to 21st Century instruction is being dominated by the integration of interactive
technologies. Over the past few years, classrooms, entire schools and school districts have been
investing thousands of dollars into interactive technologies for classroom adoption. The most
common device being installed in classrooms all over the globe is the interactive whiteboard.
The instructional benefits of the interactive whiteboard have been well documented and highly praised by many classroom teachers. The ability of a teacher or a student to interact with the classroom whiteboard, to view, manipulate and demonstrate content, to browse the internet with a single tap, to record lessons for web posting and to interact with educational software that engages the student, are all features of the interactive whiteboard that makes its use in the learning environment a valuable tool for 21st Century instruction.
So, why don’t all schools take advantage of this innovative technology? The answer: the prohibitive cost of purchase and installation.
If only there was a way to out$mart the Interactive WhiteBoard and still benefit from its type interactive technology. There is...
The School of the Madeleine recently invested in a tablet device for interactive technology—the iPad. Students and teachers both have the experience of interacting with technology in a manner that is engaging and educationally beneficial. But, this article is not about the iPad...it is about interactive technology for instructional purposes. Let me explain, how the iPad plays a role.
The iPad presented a wonderful challenge to the Madeleine as we were considering the purchase of interactive whiteboards. With the iPad, did we need an interactive whiteboard? Although the individual student or teacher could interact with a device, the ability to share that experience for instructional purposes with the whole class, like the interactive whiteboard would permit, was eluding us. Once Apple updated the iOS for the iPad and updated their software for the Apple TV these two system enhancements opened up tremendous opportunity.
The iPad in conjunction with Apple TV is able to mirror its device to any monitor or projector that has an HDMI input port. The magical piece of this feature is that the iPad is now able to mirror its screen wirelessly. This capability enables the teacher to display any content or App from anywhere in the classroom. This mirrored image can then be transmitted to a flat panel television connected to Apple TV or projected onto the classroom’s existing whiteboard simply through a projection device connected to Apple TV. Since interaction takes place through the iPad-no interactive whiteboard is needed.
But this is not all, depending on the number of iPads at the teacher’s disposal, this feature creates multiple interactive whiteboards in one classroom. Every teacher and student who is using an iPad, has the ability to project their device and interact with their content via the Apple TV by simply tapping the Airplay button on the iPad. Imagine having the ability to demo something on to the whiteboard via the iPad and then asking students to share their content with the class with a simple tap of a button. No cables, no special software and no need to be up in the front of the classroom. Students can interact and share their content right from their desktops. Now, that is Smart. What else is smart is the cost savings.
The instructional benefits of the interactive whiteboard have been well documented and highly praised by many classroom teachers. The ability of a teacher or a student to interact with the classroom whiteboard, to view, manipulate and demonstrate content, to browse the internet with a single tap, to record lessons for web posting and to interact with educational software that engages the student, are all features of the interactive whiteboard that makes its use in the learning environment a valuable tool for 21st Century instruction.
So, why don’t all schools take advantage of this innovative technology? The answer: the prohibitive cost of purchase and installation.
If only there was a way to out$mart the Interactive WhiteBoard and still benefit from its type interactive technology. There is...
The School of the Madeleine recently invested in a tablet device for interactive technology—the iPad. Students and teachers both have the experience of interacting with technology in a manner that is engaging and educationally beneficial. But, this article is not about the iPad...it is about interactive technology for instructional purposes. Let me explain, how the iPad plays a role.
The iPad presented a wonderful challenge to the Madeleine as we were considering the purchase of interactive whiteboards. With the iPad, did we need an interactive whiteboard? Although the individual student or teacher could interact with a device, the ability to share that experience for instructional purposes with the whole class, like the interactive whiteboard would permit, was eluding us. Once Apple updated the iOS for the iPad and updated their software for the Apple TV these two system enhancements opened up tremendous opportunity.
The iPad in conjunction with Apple TV is able to mirror its device to any monitor or projector that has an HDMI input port. The magical piece of this feature is that the iPad is now able to mirror its screen wirelessly. This capability enables the teacher to display any content or App from anywhere in the classroom. This mirrored image can then be transmitted to a flat panel television connected to Apple TV or projected onto the classroom’s existing whiteboard simply through a projection device connected to Apple TV. Since interaction takes place through the iPad-no interactive whiteboard is needed.
But this is not all, depending on the number of iPads at the teacher’s disposal, this feature creates multiple interactive whiteboards in one classroom. Every teacher and student who is using an iPad, has the ability to project their device and interact with their content via the Apple TV by simply tapping the Airplay button on the iPad. Imagine having the ability to demo something on to the whiteboard via the iPad and then asking students to share their content with the class with a simple tap of a button. No cables, no special software and no need to be up in the front of the classroom. Students can interact and share their content right from their desktops. Now, that is Smart. What else is smart is the cost savings.
Out$marting the Interactive WhiteBoard might mean thinking differently about the type of mobile
technology the school invests in for student use. For us at the Madeleine, with the integration of
the iPad the need for an interactive whiteboard is diminished. But, the iPad discussion is for
another article.
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