More importantly, the study found that students were more engaged when the boards were being used--rarely were "backrow nappers" observed.
Finally--and this is a key finding--the study revealed that the more often teachers used the interactive white board (IWB), the more likely they were to turn over control of learning to students. Less teacher talk and more student inquiry are the touchstones for constructivist pedagogy. It's where we want to be in our classrooms.
When I see leading educational researchers like Robert Marzano embracing Promethean's ActivBoard, I pay attention. Recently, in a keynote address at a computer-using educators conference, Marzano warned that while there were no "no silver bullets" for instruction, there are "silver bbs." He pointed out that a teacher must select the combination of bbs that is best for his or her classroom, and he made specific mention of what he feels are two true breakthroughs in education: interactive white boards and voting technology.
His findings are impressive:
- In classrooms using Promethean interactive white boards and voting technology, there was an immediate 17-percentile gain in scores.
- If a teacher uses the board for 20-30 months, an average of 20 percentile gain was evidenced.
- Students with an experienced teacher who uses the board 75% of the time, who has had training, and who has had 2 years of experience with the board showed a 29 percentile gain in scores.
However, Marzano warns that the district can't just give a board to a teacher. The professional development needed to successfully use the board must be included in the formula. He also noted that weaker teachers must receive training in how to use the board as well as in effective teaching practices. In other words, an interactive white board will not automatically make a weak teacher strong!
The focus, he concluded, must remain on content, not on the bells-and-whistles of technology. However, it is the Promethean voting technology that he praises most as the educational breakthrough because a teacher can keep track of which students are understanding the content.
Marzano's comments are true about all educational technology. Technology, in itself, will not improve learning. Any benefits from technology is completely dependent upon how well it is used.
Bottom line: We need to be looking for funding sources for Promethean ActivBoards and ActivVotes.
1 comment:
I like this article. I actually have another company's version of the activotes and can verify that they do work. Also in our science LaSip class we use a "poor man's" version of the activotes.
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