Interactive White Boards

I would like to begin by saying that the projects we've done in class using ActivInspire software for use on interactive white boards have been my favorite yet in the TPTE486 class. I absolute love having interactive activities to use in classes, and with this type of technology use, students will see lessons as more of a game and less of lecture. I think the visual aspect of the interactive white boards is great for different learner types, and it can be a great tool for differentiation and for learners who might have special needs (hearing impaired, e.g.). There are so many great tools and abilities within the software, so the possibilities for activities and ways to use the program are endless. I can definitely see myself using this type of project in my own classroom, especially since it provides an opportunity to use some cross-curricular learning as well. I think that because of the nature of the white board activities that I would be able to create, the interactivity would also lend itself well to multiple checkpoints throughout the lesson (formative assessments). 

The only problem that I can foresee with the use of interactive white boards is that the 2 main "servers" or providers in this industry (SMART Tech's SMARTBoards and Promethean) are obviously competing for business. Because of this, there is very little compatibility in the way of moving from one system to the other. In other words, taking an ActivInspire (Promethean) project to a SMARTBoard is nearly impossible, while moving a SMART project to a Promethean is a little easier, but still not so practical considering some formatting and interactivity may be lost. The problem then becomes, "What do I do if I move from a SMART school to a Promethean school?" or vice versa. Well, basically you've got your work cut out for you. This would probably involve a lot of starting over with interactive white board activities or some major adjusting of your current projects. This is a daunting thought since simply creating an original project in either system is very time consuming and involves a lot of steps.

Basically, I think that aside from the technical kinks that could very well be worked out in the next few years (technology is an ever-evolving thing, as we all know), interactive white board activities are a great way to engage learners of all types of intelligences and ability levels. 

Here is one I've created that might be worth checking out! 

---> Interactive White Board Activity (for Promethean)