Roundtable on the interactive whiteboard (Part 3)

During the 2010 AQEP congress, which was held in St-Hyacinthe from November 3 to 5, an interesting round table allowed four guests as well as participants to discuss the topic of IWBs and other technological tools in class. Today, second question: Are the accessories offered around IWBs really useful? Are there other more suitable technologies?

This round table was an initiative of De Marque, a company well established in educational technologies, which represents the interactive whiteboard Activboard, but which is also interested in content and activities related to IWBs in general (Editor's note: De Marque is also l publisher of Infobourg).

Review the article First part for the presentation of the participants, or the article Second part for the discussion around the first question of the debate.

Question 2: Are the accessories offered around IWBs really useful? Are there other more suitable technologies?

Claude frenette : He begins his answer by recalling that the number of tools that could be used in the classroom to teach students is so vast that it is easy to get lost. He therefore stops at tools that allow students to participate with the IWB, such as clickers, iPods, iPads and laptops. In his opinion, all are interesting if used properly, but many are still too expensive to hope to generalize their use. The only really essential technological tool remains access to a computer as a daily tool. “Not all agree, but I am one of those who believe that the TBI tends to reinforce formal teaching among teachers, even if some manage to go further. The challenge is to make the students more active in the activities that we want them to experience, the learning that we want them to do. This is where the complementary tools do a great service. "

Little interlude : The facilitator asks the crowd what tools they have in their classroom. The majority have access to computers in the classroom (often referred to as “computerized” though!). A few have laptops, some have access to IWBs (but not necessarily in their classroom), but only one allows the use of iPods and other tech gadgets in their classroom. Some participants, taken aback, wonder if we are indeed in elementary school and do not believe that it is possible!

Before answering the question in her turn, Ms. Massé, astonished, returns to a reality raised by some participants during this interlude: how are IWBs used if they are not necessarily in the classroom? A person then explains that there is only one IWB for the whole school, each group having to go to the computer room to do one class per week, before the administration agrees to buy more. By Christmas, two classes of this school will be equipped. For teachers, this requires more work, because they have to take ownership of the material without even having access to it. Another person explains that, on the other hand, her school is fully equipped with IWB in all classes and everyone uses it. This young teacher started her career at this school, so she didn't have to experience any change in her teaching style!

Isabelle Massé : To question 2, she answers yes, if it is of good use. She gives the example of Facebook, which has exceptionally been unblocked for the iCl @ sse : a special page for the group allows students to discuss and give their opinion on different subjects. When they have questions for a job, their colleagues can come to their aid easily. There is also a Facebook page used by a school committee. “The tool is easy to access and makes it easier for people to participate. However, it must be put to good use. Technologies work several skills in young people: effective research, processing information on the Internet, self-esteem (they can show their skills to others!). They motivate children in their learning, but it really depends on how they are used to support learning. "

Pierre Poulin : In his opinion, the usefulness or not of tools accompanying IWBs or other technologies depends on the teacher. If the teacher judges that they are useful, he is the teacher. However, he reminds us that usefulness comes with the availability of tools, that is to say their accessibility directly in the classroom, and not in a laboratory! “The TBI completely loses its interest in relation to other technological tools if the student does not have access to them. Soon the interest he aroused at the beginning deteriorated. Other tools on the other hand are very practical! It is of course always a question of budget. Clickers, for example, that's positive, studies even show it, just like with iPods. »He adds that having a TBI in his class does not make a teacher become more« techno ».

Yves nadon : “Personally, I consume a lot of techno. But I still have difficulty understanding that we are focusing on the method rather than the content. First, do you teachers have books in your classes? Do your students write every day? Are you making room for the students' lives? Then, and only there, do you have interactive tables? He is annoyed to see the budgets allocated to technologies like interactive whiteboards when many classes do not even have books. According to him, the book is a good companion to the TBI. There should be some in the classroom, within reach of the teacher and the students. He prefers to put money on cultural material rather than technology. “Writing on an iPod Touch, if that's what finally motivates a student, it's a little disheartening. What kind of teacher has he had before! He will be distraught the following year, along with another teacher, when he loses his iPod Touch! ".