Working-Teaching-Learning from Home - CompuNews: Part Nineteen

In this week’s blog, our Education Director picks up the chalk and dry board markers again as he looks forward to a whiteboard renaissance as new collaborative whiteboard spaces become more widespread in our classrooms and homes.

Who remembers the dusting of chalk dust on your shoes or the black residue under your finger nails as blackboards and whiteboards started to disappear from the front of the classroom, to be replaced by eye-blinding projectors and interactive boards. Wow we thought, as the plastic pens in our hands worked magical miracles on the white plastic, mimicking our every action, an arrow here, a highlight there…..wasn’t that the dream? Oh it was until the blinds and curtains started to be drawn as the image slowly faded and that arrow not so magically appeared 5 cm away from where you intended. But wait, said your IT Technician, there are these touch screen TVs that never fade and always write where you want them to. So slowly these Interactive Flat-Panel Displays (IFPDs), said no-one, began appearing as budgets allowed, a dark monolithic slab here, another there. The blinds and curtains were slowly opened, letting the light back in, and they worked a treat. You had the training and the confidence levels began rising again as you started to trust your new high-tech TV, but the traditional whiteboards were ever present, never far away, moved to the side ‘just in case’, you’ve been there before with technology.

The big question was, did they make a difference? There was a plethora of research in the beginning, mainly by the manufacturers, justifying their use, and they found that yes, having an interactive panel, to be able to interact with teaching content and resources with your audience, does improve student learning outcomes…but what now?

We seen the casting bit, very flashy and very useful too, ‘show the class what you’ve done’; kudos indeed. Let’s all vote for the best work, now that was a let down. 

Believe it or not, educational is a real pusher for tech development, the audience are keen, the money is there, so where are we now?

The last 8 months have been a bit rubbish really, but let’s look for meagre positives, the Dfe saw the light and have pushed cloud based learning platforms to the masses. It’s not for the few ‘enlightened’ schools anymore, nearly every school can now have either a Microsoft or Google flavoured platform, for free.

What’s that got to do with interactive panels? Well, those scribblings, those mildly embarrassing drawings of plate tectonics or flower parts, can easily be posted to these platforms, with just a few clicks after the dust has settled at the end of the day, posting those scribbles, with a question scrawled across the top as homework to your class, with any other resources attached, with a due date, with a marking scheme…done. Imagine posting all your front of class led resources and comments, with annotations too, for every lesson to your online classes, work yes, but what a fantastic resources for your students; “What did we do last week?”. Oh I forgot to tell you, these whiteboards support remote live meetings now, so this can all be done live from the comfort of your home ‘teaching chair’, if you had one. Am I starting to get your attention now?

Oh those caveats; yes you’re relying on touchscreen device numbers if you’re expecting live class wide interaction back, or students with a device at home, with an internet connection, but it’s a start, the journey can be long, but knowing where you’re going, is always a good idea at the start of any journey.

They’ve been around a while now, and you’ve probably got your own way of working, but are you keen to join the whiteboard revolution, and if you are, don’t forget to let your students have some fun too.

Further information can be found here for collaborative whiteboarding, Microsoft Whiteboard or Google Jamboard, and here for Promethean Interactive Panels

As always Computeam are here to help and we have a wealth of experience in delivering effective educational solutions into schools, so please do contact us if you need any further help or guidance.