Promethean board - the next best thing since sliced bread...

Prior to going into my school I had heard about the new interactive whiteboards and how great they were, but I didn't really understand just what they were and what the capabilities for the classroom entailed.

I was lucky enough to be placed in a school where they had just had interactive whiteboard installed in the majority of their science rooms. After watching a quick demonstration on the boards and having a bit of a play myself I was sold, the potential for these boards really is mind blowing. I did a little research and found a site promethean planet which has a whole heap of ideas for teachers and programs which can be downloaded.

However, for this potential to be transformed into anything more than potential teachers needs to be creative and have the ability to use the boards effectively. Sadly, the majority of classes I have observed use the board for no more than a projection screen for PowerPoint presentations or for the desk camera, which in itself can also provide for valuable learning experience, however there is so much more the boards can be utilised for.

The potential of these boards to create learning experiences which scaffold student learning and focus on active, problem based learning which is engaging for students is phenomenal.

There are training courses available for the boards and I would recommend at your first opportunity you take the course to learn more about the boards and how they can be used in the classroom to create learning experiences that are engaging and valuable.

Here is a pretty cool example from YouTube of an interactive whiteboard being used.