for students, how can the whiteboard used in classrooms be improved?

[Dear Summer]

I'm in the process of helping design a new whiteboard for a classroom. Right now, it just shows what is shown on your computer screen. It is located behind the professor. It has no interactivity with the students. Any other issues that should be looked at and how it might be improved?

 

[Gibson486]

how to improve, just give out the answers!

 

[MikeMike]

uh...

Smartboards???

 

[HybridSquirrel]

you can make it like the thing from minority report...

 

[yllus]

I'm not sure I completely understand what you're working on, but I'll offer something up anyways.

It'd be nice to be able to press a button on my laptop and capture a screenshot of what's on the whiteboard. You should be able to write a quick note that's tied to the image to provide context.

 

[spidey07]

I'm not sure I completely understand what you're working on, but I'll offer something up anyways.

It'd be nice to be able to press a button on my laptop and capture a screenshot of what's on the whiteboard. You should be able to write a quick note that's tied to the image to provide context.

Already mentioned. That's what smartboards are for.

 

[MotF Bane]

uh...

Smartboards???

This.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Like the others said - Smart board type technology. SRS (student response systems) help to add student interactivity component. Also include Web integration in the same environment, but all of this requires some planned instruction. This is actually the topic I am using for my Masters program (Learning & Technology).

 

[darkewaffle]

Porn backgrounds.

 

[Homerboy]

uh...

Smartboards???

Correct. Smartboards are already the "improvement" to white boards. Not sure what else you are looking for, but the invention has already been invented. Even my kids' 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms have these.

 

[MovingTarget]

Our classrooms recently got these installed: http://www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.16005

 

[Uhtrinity]

There are a lot of smartboard options.

We use mimio boards in our school @ ~$600 each plus computer / projector. Smartboards will easily start out at $2000.

On the cheap you can also use a wii remote and a blue-tooth dongle.

http://techshoestring.blogspot.com/2009/02/forty-dollar-smart-board-using-wii.html


But smartboards only add teacher interactivity short of having students at the board, that is why I mentioned SRS systems.

 

[Linflas]

Like the others said - Smart board type technology. SRS (student response systems) help to add student interactivity component. Also include Web integration in the same environment, but all of this requires some planned instruction. This is actually the topic I am using for my Masters program (Learning & Technology).

Yep we have Smartboards in most classrooms and the teachers can use the Smart Response system when they want to make it interactive with the entire class. You would be surprised just how much technology we are using in K-12. Just in my middle school we have 210 laptops in carts that can be used by classes wirelessly, the elementary I support has 90.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

I'm in the process of helping design a new whiteboard for a classroom. Right now, it just shows what is shown on your computer screen. It is located behind the professor. It has no interactivity with the students. Any other issues that should be looked at and how it might be improved?

funny, it kind of sounds like WE are designing it now

 

[WT]

Just in my middle school we have 210 laptops in carts that can be used by classes wirelessly, the elementary I support has 90.

Its amazing how disgusting the kids can get these LCDs on laptops in just a few months time. I would bet that a McDonalds toilet seat doesn't contain the bacteria that our screens do. A 'Please do not touch the screen' only gives them more motivation to snot it up

Also, the cosmetic damage to the laptops from sliding into the carts is extremely high. Hinge sliders and wireless buttons take a beating to the point that the failure rate is over 20% from the date of purchase to the end of the 3 year warranty, compared to less than 1% on our desktops.

 

[Linflas]

Its amazing how disgusting the kids can get these LCDs on laptops in just a few months time. I would bet that a McDonalds toilet seat doesn't contain the bacteria that our screens do. A 'Please do not touch the screen' only gives them more motivation to snot it up

Also, the cosmetic damage to the laptops from sliding into the carts is extremely high. Hinge sliders and wireless buttons take a beating to the point that the failure rate is over 20% from the date of purchase to the end of the 3 year warranty, compared to less than 1% on our desktops.

Heh the screens are nasty but we haven't had any issues with the hinges etc from them being used with the carts. We have had some clever ones pop off the keys but so far I have only had to replace 2 keyboards and we have been using carts for 4 years now.

 

[Ticky]

Here's an idea: Design a smartboard that the prof./teacher can write on from BEHIND the board (so put it out in the room a bit. Use smartboard tech on both sides, and make it ~60% opaque. Also it will need to have speakers to relay sound, and echo cancellation.) This will be especially great for people who insist on writing long proofs on white boards.

 

[anxi80]

Its amazing how disgusting the kids can get these LCDs on laptops in just a few months time. I would bet that a McDonalds toilet seat doesn't contain the bacteria that our screens do. A 'Please do not touch the screen' only gives them more motivation to snot it up

Also, the cosmetic damage to the laptops from sliding into the carts is extremely high. Hinge sliders and wireless buttons take a beating to the point that the failure rate is over 20% from the date of purchase to the end of the 3 year warranty, compared to less than 1% on our desktops.

A couple of the classrooms at my site have what looks like a standard desk but when you open the lid/door on top there's a Macbook that props up. So the portability factor is there but most of the time it stays inside the desk and doesnt take quite as much of a beating. The lid also has a lock on it to secure it. We also have a C.O.W. for transporting laptops and have ran into a lot of the same issues you've touched upon.

And to the OP, yep we also use SMART Board's (both the projection screen and the Plasma screen overlay variants) and a Promethean board (which actually gets used more to put giant Post-It sheets on for some reason).

 

[McWatt]

I always found it a little bit easier to write legibly on chalk boards due to more controllable friction between the writing implement and the substrate, so I suggest a chalk retrofit.

 

[coldmeat]

We have smart board type white boards in our larger classrooms, the 100 - 600 rooms. I've never seen a prof use one though, they just use powerpoint slides or a regular projector and a sheet of paper.

 

[DrPizza]

Here's an idea: Design a smartboard that the prof./teacher can write on from BEHIND the board (so put it out in the room a bit. Use smartboard tech on both sides, and make it ~60% opaque. Also it will need to have speakers to relay sound, and echo cancellation.) This will be especially great for people who insist on writing long proofs on white boards.

To write on the back of the board & have it be seen from the other side, the prof would have to write a mirror image. But, for what it's worth, I can write on my Promethean board from anywhere in the classroom using a smartpad (or whatever the heck the thing is called.) When I have shy students who don't want to go up to the board, I have them use that smartpad. That's the surest way to get them to give up and just go up to the board. (It's harder to write on the smartpad.)

As far as interactivity, there are a shitload of applications that can be used in a classroom. Give them all laptops & the right software, and you're teaching one thing on the board, answering questions via a twitter-like application which is streamed to the laptops (everyone sees those questions being asked by students & the answers, and can answer each other.) The teacher runs a 3-ring circus. It's incredibly submersive for the kids & keeps captures their attention much better. Keeps the smarter kids more involved and gives them the ability to learn in greater depth, while addressing the weaker students.

 

[shortylickens]

We already have smartboards. Theres really nothing left as far as function goes. Sure you could make something fancy but would it really do such a great job that you'd wanna replace all your smartboards?

 

[Leros]

Some kind of way to record automatically and send it to the students. Its really annoying taking a math type class where the professor basically writes on the board at lightning speed 90% of the class. You spend the whole class frantically trying to take notes instead of listening.

 

[dullard]

For college, I think the best thing you can do to the whiteboard is to get rid of them.

Honestly, all of the bad professors just stand there writing notes, or worse, copying from the book. That isn't teaching. Teaching is giving us new information in multiple different formats in case we didn't understand the first format. Writing on a whiteboard isn't teaching, no matter how smart the board is. If you want to put a lot of text in front of the students, then hand them the text and ask them to hand write it as homework. Then you can spend the class time actually teaching.

For highschool and younger, I can see a limited point in the whiteboards. But, keep its use limited.

 

[dullard]

Some kind of way to record automatically and send it to the students. Its really annoying taking a math type class where the professor basically writes on the board at lightning speed 90% of the class. You spend the whole class frantically trying to take notes instead of listening.

Camera on your cell phone. Problem solved.