Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abstract
This study aims to give perspectives about the introduction of Interactive
White Boards (IWB) to the secondary classroom. The study aims to outline
some of the current educational background within which IWB’s present
themselves, the changing nature of schools and schooling and the concept of
‘anytime anywhere learning’.
The study looks at the Interactive Board from various view points, both
student and teacher based, it opens up debate in class room pedagogy in
using IWB’s as a rich media portal and an effective method of ICT delivery of
visual engagement and plenary /review tools.
Teacher reflection is an important part of Continuous Professional
Development (CPD), this study submits that the very nature of using this type
of technology actually encourages this important self reflection and develops
a lesson disassembly that otherwise may not exist. Recommendations are
made for whole school implementation of Interactive White Board use through
practical discovery and video observation.
Context
I currently work as the Director of Information and Communication
Technology for Ringmer Community College, a small specialist school in East
Sussex. I have been teaching for the past seventeen years mostly in the fields
of Design & Technology and ICT. I also work as a co-ordinator across a local
consortium of schools within a Leaning Skills Council funded increased
flexibility programme for the 14-19 Curriculum and as a seconded lecturer in
education at Brighton University. I have a strong interest in the collaborative
nature of online learning and am currently studying at MA level in Education
with research projects completed so far on collaborative workspace
environments and their use with students. I gained a best Practice Research
Scholarship (BPRS) in 2001 which helped instigate a journey which I am
happy to say is still continuing through fellowship of Mirandanet and support
from Sussex University, Ultralab at the APU and IOE, London University.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 1
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
delivered and attended by some of the above groups. Most teachers have a
laptop.
Then
My first exposure to interactive white boards (IWB) was at the British Training
and Technology show (BETT). I witnessed a demonstration of diagrams and
clipart being used as part of a lesson and my jaw dropped. I felt like I
immediately needed one but I could not persuade my department to fund the
extremely expensive equipment.
Seeing the board in use set my imagination racing. How could this be used to
enhance the teaching and learning in my classroom? Could the computer
eventually be used in every classroom as a flexible tool? It was the heady late
90’s and technology, as ever seemed to be developing at a pace of change
that was hard to keep abreast of.
Now
I walk in to my classroom and turn on my laptop. I connect the IWB and turn
on the video projector. I log in to the network by radio connection and call up
my prepared lesson on ‘ICT in Society’.
Short video clips and report writing tasks engage the students. It looks like the
days of wishing I had an IWB are over. Now I can start my journey.
The main aims of the project were to help a first year applied GCSE ICT
group understand holistically the subject area and make them aware of
interconnection in their learning.
Better progression and continuity from lesson to lesson was a major feature
as there were timetable constraints placed upon this course.
The project also aimed to introduce strong visual elements into these lessons,
to experiment with the visual starter as part of the national strategy multi part
lesson. I have been interested in some time in working with preferred learning
styles and multiple intelligences. I have also carried out previous research into
critical thinking and the use of concept maps. The Interactive White board
(IWB) could bring all these factors together.
I had used intranets with custom designed course sites for a number of years
and I was interested to see how the IWB could act as the catalyst for their use
within whole class teaching. Could materials be stored as part of the intranet
that could be used within the class situation and then further is available for
student review and sharing with other staff members?
Thoughts seemed to jump around the train as I left the station after initial
project meetings. My voyage had started in to the visual richness available to
me now as a teacher.
Methodology
Concern
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 2
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Actions
I will try to develop a range of tasks and approaches that use Interactive
White board (IWB) technology and try to develop a blended learning approach
using existing Internet based infrastructures. The tasks that I develop will use
the theories of preferred learning style and try to promote critical thinking
skills. I have completed research work on both of these areas and feel
confident that they have a dramatic impact on teaching and learning.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 3
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
The computer and associated systems such as the Internet have started to
change education, as we know it. These changes have occurred naturally as
teachers have tried to make the most of teaching opportunities in the use of
technology and also occur from external pressures to the educational world
such as government and economic climate.
The increasing pressure from all parties to use ICT effectively in the
classroom and to ‘skill’ the flexible workforce of tomorrow is felt by all
teachers. The recent government initiatives such as the National Grid For
Learning (Ngfl) and publications such as ‘Connecting the learning society’ and
‘Transforming the way we learn’ all point to case studies where ICT is used to
great effect to enhance learning and bring a wealth of resources into the
classroom. The present and past governments high hope for a new education
system with ICT at its heart is expressed in these documents.
‘We intend to lift educational standards in Britain to the level of the best in the
world. This will mean making the most of technological change. Technology
has revolutionized the way we work and now is set to transform education….
Standards, literacy, numeracy, subject knowledge – all will be enhanced by
the Grid and the support it will give to our programme for school improvement’
(Blair 1997)
Learning for a post-modern society where more than one career is expected
in one's lifetime and leisure activities are seen as perhaps not just important
but vital to one's personal growth and both mental and physical health. The
term 'life long learning' was used by the UK government in a seminal paper in
1997 ‘Connecting The Learning Society’ (DFEE 1997), as part of a New
Labour government in the early nineties and this is still a mantra that is
chanted by both government and non-government organisations (NGO)
regularly. The essence of this phrase is perhaps founded in organisational
management writings such as Peter Senge's 'The Fifth Discipline (1993) and
Boydell & Pedlar 'The learning company' (1997). It is, in my opinion, a realistic
view of how our post-modern education system is developing in the UK. Life
long learning, independent learning or pupil centered learning are all phrases
that any education establishment has heard for the last two to three years, but
what is actually meant by these phrases and how do we develop our students
skills to fit into these new concepts of educated individuals?
There is a challenge to accepted modern concepts of knowledge
management through primary and secondary education. The modern concept
of this is that government hierarchies produce a treatise on a common
curriculum which outlines the knowledge needed by a child leaving the
education system (National Curriculum).
There is a groundswell of thought about such a concept and a recent set of
papers on knowledge management by the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development suggests these concerns.
The saturation level of home computer use and Internet connections may
have more to do with ‘adoption’ of this technology than anything else. The
level of home computer use has grown over the last year to 10.7 million
households with access to the internet in 2002, this is 42% of UK households
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 4
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
which is over three times the number in 1999 (National Statistics Office 2002)
These statistics themselves show that as saturation of computer technology
increases rapidly,
The affect of this growth will be felt in educational systems and educational
culture change.
‘The audit commission says some 12,000 children a year are permanently
excluded from school and a further 150,000 are excluded temporarily…. The
commission also says that each year a million of the 8m children in our
schools will be absent without authorisation’. (Educational Guardian 2000)
Ways of Learning
Many new theories of learning enhancement have been posited over the last
decade. Theories of multiple intelligences (Gardner 1993) and preferred
learning style (Honey and Mumford 1992) are now commonly put in to
practice in UK education establishments and teacher training institutions.
Research work in research in Mirror Neuron Systems (MNS) (Rizzolatti et al
2004) has enabled us to develop an understanding that perhaps using an
Interactive White Board can bring about powerful learning gains as well as
motivational successes.
Many believe that learning by pointing is a basic and necessary form of
communication that is followed when we are children. This form of
communication embeds meaning and reinforces concept frameworks.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 5
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Teacher Reflection
At the heart of becoming a teacher is, above all else, being a learner, a life
long learner. To learn, one has to ask questions, of oneself and of others, and
to know that this process is valued and shared across the school. Reflecting
on teaching provides a focus for analysing and developing learning and
teaching.
(DENI 1999)
Expected Outcomes
From previous work with preferred learning styles I would expect most of my
students to enjoy the use of visual concept maps to help connect their
learning.
The use of limited text based notes will also help in making an inclusive
classroom. I would also expect that the use of the IWB would be of interest to
most students as they are generally interested in technology and especially
new equipment. This may just be a novelty factor and this interest could be
short-lived.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 6
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Observations
I have decided to observe the process of IWB use in a number of ways. These
will mainly be through observational logs that I keep and the use of video to
record ways within which I have used the board and the materials that I have
developed.
The observations are on a day-to-day basis and will be kept in note form. I
sometimes require a time out session when I try to sit down and reflect on my
notes and the tasks that I have carried out. I will summarise these notes and
try to analyse them more critically in analysis section of work.
I have also had professional dialogue with several members of teaching staff
about the use of IWB within their teaching and this has helped form my views
on the IWB system that I have designed to meet the needs of both teacher
learners and student learners from my school.
Tasks
1. To develop visual starters for my lessons using the ACTIVstudio software
and concept maps.
2. To establish barriers to IWB effective use.
3. To develop a lesson review (Plenary) system that can be used after the
lesson has finished
4. To develop a system of shared use of IWB resources.
5. To design a user framework to act as a template for content management
as part of an Managed learning Environment (MLE)
Data Collection
These video clips show the ways in which I started to use the IWB over a
number of weeks.
Video Clip 1 (appendix ) shows the IWB used as a lesson starter to reinforce
learning points from the previous weeks lesson.
Video clip 2 (appendix ) shows the IWB used within a plenary session and
emphasises the ability to use visual cues such as colour easily
Video clip 3 (appendix ) shows the IWB used in conjunction with concept
maps both through the use of flip chart drawing and external software use
imported into the flip chart as a graphic
The sound clips are professional dialogue with other board users and some
student focus group work data
Sound 1 (appendix ) is a sample of conversations about stages of board use
Sound 2 (appendix )is a sample of conversation about barriers to progression
in the phased cycle of effective board use
Sound 3(appendix )is sample of conversations about sharing board resources
and good practice in the school and beyond
Sound 4 (appendix )is a sample of student focus group feedback about board
use
Sound 5 (appendix )is a sample of student focus group feedback about
‘Boardwalk’ resource base
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 7
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Summary
Within this project I have tried to start my voyage of discovery into the visual
world of IWB use. It has been an interesting leg of my journey but I feel very
much a new traveller. My initial aims were to try to promote better progression
in a year 9 GCSE applied ICT class as well as enable them to have a better
holistic understanding of their course by means of a visually orientated
structure. I feel that I did achieve these aims with the feedback from the class
showing that they found the use of the concept maps “easier to remember”
and “useful”.
Within the short period of time I have been using the system I have personally
felt that there is a better understanding and that the lessons that are
sometimes two weeks apart are better connected. This I think is partly
because strong structure from the three part lesson helps to support learning
and partly because I have been able to use the strong review and plenary
capabilities of the ACTIVboard.
As the Becta reading says “High-quality direct teaching is oral, interactive and
lively..” I feel that the IWB and associated materials that I have produced has
helped me to develop this.
My original aims changed somewhat within the research period and I decided,
as one does with an organic action research led project, that I would add to
the initial task list. I found through professional dialogues with other
colleagues that were using IWB for the first time that there were some
common threads:
skill of the member of staff and also their willingness to spend time with the
equipment. (appendix)
Recommendations
I have decided to make some general recommendation for IWB
implementation. This will help me to achieve my aim of implementing an IWB
in every class room.
I have plans to develop a CPD group for Interactive White Board use and will
use this study as a conversational report to gain colleagues interest and
senior Leadership involvement.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 9
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Bibliography
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 10
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
consultation paper.
Head,S. (1996) ‘The New Ruthless Economy’, New York Review of Books,
29th February
OECD. (2001). Knowledge and Skills for Life: First results from the
improve
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 11
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
URL- http://cogprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00002613/01/mn.pdf
Mirror neurons and imitation learning as a driving force behind “the great leap
URL – http://static.userland.com/gems/cdmilligan/mirrorneurons.rtf
URL - http://www.philosophersnet.com/magazine/
Maidenhead.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 12
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Appendix
Video Clip 1
Aim: To encourage the group to engage at the lesson start and to reinforce
the previous lessons materials as the lessons are often a distance apart.
Dialogue:
In this video clip you can see the IWB being used to start the lesson and to
give powerful review session to this group. The group were completing a
project about the use of public information and its associated technologies.
The board notes were completed using Active studio software to build a
flipchart and various elements then used to build the pages.
A time line was created through discussion in the lesson with students about
technological advances through the ages. This time line was then further
improved by the addition of graphics after the lesson.
Concepts maps were built again through student group task of pair and share.
We then built a large group concept map of ideas of what technologies
contributed to public information and the differences in dynamic and static
information sources.
A presentation slide layout plan was then produced with students and this
then planned to be implemented by the students.
Observations:
The students enjoyed seeing their contributions again as board work. Some
students commented positively about the improvement made in the historical
time line and a conversation was developed about the time line again. Had
the students thought about this lesson when they went away and now were
more easily keyed into discussion because of the same board work display.
Did the improved images help to give enhanced visual cues to help them think
about the timeline again?
Video Clip 2
Aim: To use the powerful review tools in IWB software to re enforce learning
and engage visual memory aids such as icons and colour
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 13
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Dialogue:
In this video clip you can see the flip chart software in Active studio used as
part of the plenary within a lesson. The power of reviewing work and board
notes made during the lesson is useful during this type of activity.
You can see that colour highlighting has been used to reinforce points about
advantages and drawbacks.
I could easily use this saved flip chart to remind students of the presentation
content plan time and time again. I even printed out the board notes for a
student who was having difficulties in organisation of their presentation.
Observations:
The students responded very well to the use of the board in this way, many
asked to return to a certain flipchart page so that they could remind
themselves of the content and technicalities of the work.
Video Clip 3
Aim: To use the visual power of the IWB to develop the use of concept maps.
These maps could then be further enhanced by making them into hyper
linkable menus.
Dialogue:
In this video you can see that the rough concept maps have been developed
into more readable and visually stimulating concept maps. A cheap and
readily available software was used to create this called e mind map. The
software can import clip art into the branched concept map and also by made
to be hyper linkable. The resulting map can then be exported as a HTML
based web page and can be accessed through a web browser.
The maps were accessed through a school based web server and therefore
could be used by students at home to reinforce learning outside of the
classroom.
Observations:
The students really found using these maps useful. They were used to not
only focus student research to the correct resources but also to reinforce
visual groupings and connections in the theory being taught.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 14
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Sound Clip 1
Aim: To establish patterns of first time users and collect impressions about
IWB and difficulties.
Dialogue:
This sound interview clip was conducted to gain some insight into teacher use
of the board other than my own. The teacher talks about the initial use of the
IWB as a glorified projection screen and evaluates their own need for further
training and time to develop their expertise.
Observations:
The interview clip makes some very useful points
Board use is phased
A long period of time is needed for teachers to become proficient board
users
Training is especially important in the initial introduction and in initiating
smooth transition between phased use
Sound Clip 2
Aim: To establish patterns of first time users and collect impressions about
IWB and difficulties.
Dialogue:
In this interview clip we ask the question “what barriers have you experienced
that hinder your progression in effective IWB use?”
Observations:
The interview makes an important point that seems to be echoed by many
IWB users:
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 15
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Sound Clip 3
Aim: To record some of the thoughts that were gained during peer group
meetings to discuss board use.
Dialogue:
This clip captures the essence of typical conversation that was to form my
thoughts and that of others whilst taking part in this study. The direct question
“How do we share each others resources?”
Observation:
The discussions that took part helped us to identify issues within the current
Active studio software that were making sharing resources more difficult as
well as helping to instigate the connection of IWB resources with existing
resources as part of our Managed Learning Environment (MLE).
Sound Clip 4
Aim:
To establish student focus group views on IWB use.
Dialogue:
What changes has the IWB had within the lessons that it has been
used?
Does the use of the IWB help you to remember what went on within the
last lesson?
Observations:
The students made valid points about reviewing and visualisation. They also
made less obvious suggestions about endless boards etc
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 16
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Sound Clip 5
Aim:
To establish students views of the “ Board Walk” sharing resource area
Dialogue:
Boardwalk was a development internet site that used a file upload and
directory catalogue script to list resource files (figure 2.). Content could be
uploaded via http transfer to the web server by any teacher users with security
access. This allowed flip chart files and other resources to be uploaded and
an automatic file directory list updated.
The main menus within boardwalk were developed using concept maps
(figure 1.)
Figure 1.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 17
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Figure 2.
Observations:
Students found this system useful and their feedback was used to develop
new feature.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 18
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
CD ROM
The CD ROM contains a file called Visual learning.pps This should open
using PowerPoint and run. You can access video clips and sound from there
and an early electronic version of the study. I used this initially to give
presentations to other teachers.
If this file does not work for any reason or you can not access Power point you
may also access video and sound files through the disc as raw files.
CPD programs
I have now just completed the first IWB CPD program session, this was well
attended ( 25 staff) and I used lots of materials that I found during this study to
help make this a useful exercise.
I have now developed a program of IWB CPD which will include Board
focused observations and am in the middle of implementing this. Program
attached)
MLE
http://www.mambo.com
http://www.moodle.com
IWB Implementation
The implementation of IWB across the college has gone well with the first 4
pilot boards being used for this study. I was able to then install another 6 and
develop their installations to a more practical working model. In September
2005 we will install another 11 boards bringing our school total to 21. The
results of this study were instrumental in giving the SLT continued confidence
in this investment.
Futures
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 19
Professional Studies Certificate in Learning Technologies
Internet Radio pilot programs that are played every lunch hour for students
approval through the multimedia sound systems attached to each board.
I am currently seeking connections with a major concept mapping software
developer who is soon to develop a IWB specific concept map tool. I would
very much like this to be part of some type of further study as well as a further
impact of IWB evaluation study in about 12 months time.
D.P.Thomas 2005
Page 20