Not+About+the+Hardware

It's Not About the Hardware

 * **How can we be a change agent for our schools in helping ALL staff understand a need for more interactive teaching and learning?**


 * **How can we best support principals in understanding the educational value of ActivInspire and an IWB? The first task should not be so much about deciding which type of board to buy, but to assess the likelihood of how well the teachers will make the cultural shift required to move towards a whole-school approach.**


 * **If the best way to gain acceptance of IWBs is to see them being used well by good teachers in real classroom settings, how might we capture these models?**

Notes from our reading:


 * Unless teachers understand how to leverage interactive technology to create better learning experiences for their students, then we are wasting our time. Like every other technology in a school, IWBs should be used to stimulate student thinking, encourage deeper and more robust discussions, provoke thoughtful ideas and make abstract concepts easier to grasp
 * The power of interactivity results from the principles of good quality teaching - student-centered, constructivist model of learning

IWB Observation Checklist:
 * 1) What were the five main educational benefits you saw in the teacher's use of the IWB and associated teaching tools?
 * 2) How do you feel the technology could have been better used?
 * 3) What was it about the IWB that you think will appeal to all teachers, even those currently making little or no class use of digital technology?
 * 4) What did you notice about the students' use of the technology?
 * 5) Were there any particular ideas you picked up from the observation?
 * 6) What kind of educational opportunities did you notice?
 * 7) What other type of digital teaching tools would you like to have in your ideal classroom in addition to the IWB?
 * 8) What particular issues will your school need to address if it moves ahead with IWBs throughout?