Don't Get Trapped |

Are you trapped by your technology? I have seen numerous educators trapped by interactive whiteboards I have lost count of how many have passed through my room to be “re-homed.” Don’t even get me started on the number of classes I’ve seen that are only using the board as a projector screen. Yes, seriously no interactivity just as a screen.

I know some of you are thinking…oh, hello?!? just give it to me! But let’s take a look into the actual trap causing this issue. One of the biggest traps is FEAR. Fear of not knowing how to use it. Fear of messing something up. Fear of time needed to learn.

How can we fix the FEAR trap?

Attitude
Communication
Resources

First and foremost is attitude. Think about it…What do you have to loose? What do you have to gain? This big white rectangle isn’t made of glass. You aren’t going to break it…uh, yes that even means you with the “techie jinks”.

Next, do a little detective work. Is someone using one effectively in your school? In your district? Communicate with others from teachers to admin to …. keep searching until someone sends you in the right direction. One-on-one help is always best. If you can’t find someone in your district, what about a nearby college?

Finally gather resources! There are more resources than you could ever need from tutorials to premade activities to professional development. Yes, there are free professional developments online and many are anytime anywhere!

The BOX trap is another issue. People get stuck in a box of only one way to use a tool. With interactive whiteboards, many educators get trapped in the “software” box. If they have for example a Promethean board, many won’t get started using the board because they think they first have to “learn” the software.

If your board is hooked up, you should be able to use it immediately if it has been used before on that computer. The key word in interactive whiteboard is INTERACTIVE. Find an interactive website and test it out! This board is like a huge ipad, tablet, or touch screen computer. Think about it in that manner.

What are some ways you can say “no” to the BOX trap with interactive whiteboards?