invercargill + interactive whiteboards

Invercargill schools have recently received a massive injection of new technology with the provision of interactive whiteboards through the Invercargill Licencing Trust funding. This has meant that interactive whiteboards in schools are at a ratio of 1 to 100 students. Along with the technology has been professional development to support teachers in the effective use of these interactive whiteboards in classrooms.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching Verdon College Teacher Sarah Aitken and her year 12 English students as they worked on interpretation of “To kill a Mockingbird” themes. Sarah ensured student involvement and engagement by getting students up to the board to highlight text (and justify their decision), annotating text, rewriting text in their own words following a class discussion, and asking several students to enter their own contributions from their desks using the mobile keyboard.

The general level of students’ interest in the lesson content, the level of discussion and the level of engagement were all high, and in the podcast interview included here, Sarah talks about the way she uses the interactive whiteboard and her plans for the future.

TAGS: ictpd