convincing school to invest in interactive whiteboards

[8HTSOCHACKI]

I just installed the free trial of the combined software from Promethean. I am excited to learn how to use this but I am such a novice!! My students love when I incorporate PowerPoint, interactive online games I make, and my website in my teaching. I am trying to convince our tiny school that interactive whiteboards are amazing tools to engage and motivate learners. We have no interactive whiteboards, but I hope to use the software with my projector on my plain whiteboard to inspire and engage students and thus parents and staff. Hopeful is the key word. Guatam's (sp?) work in teaching Chemistry sounds amazing! I want to get there from nowhere. So, does anyone use the Promethean software in a noninteractive whiteboard setting with any success? Thanks! +wave+????

[DavidFhu]

Hi,

I think it is a great idea. However, the impact will not be as great as the idea, as the parents and staff will not able to witness the different compare to traditional whiteboard.

[fwallace]

Hi,

I just read your post. I am a Technology Coordinator at an Australian primary school. I believe that if you want to do this, if you believe strongly that by using this technology you're maximising the learning of the students that you teach, then you should follow your heart and your head.{}

That is how I started ...

Even though you won't have the full power of the Activboard, you're at least one step further along on the journey. You're one step closer to where you want to be and where you want your teaching and learning to be too . :o

Ideas:
1. Maybe you could even talk to your Technology Coordinator and / or Principal about your ideas and see the response that you get.
2. Find out what schools in your area have this technology. You could even ask your principal if you could visit another school that has interactive white boards in the classes to see what it is like.

In the area where I teach there are more and more schools ordering interactive white boards which is great! Some schools take out a huge loan and repay it over five years say. Other schools buy one and see how it goes - then do fundraising to get the money to buy more.

Maybe if I tell you my story it might give you some hope . . . (Sorry it is a bit long)

Two years ago I first became a member of Promethean whilst surfing the net and finding the site (and I wasn't a coordinator then, but I told some colleagues about it and how amazing it was). About six months later my boss informed the staff that he had decided to purchase an Activboard to go in the school library and I was thrilled! The board arrived and we had some professional development with a Promethean representative. All the teachers were given a free copy of the software to download onto their computers at home so they could play with it in their own time and at their own pace. Following this the teachers were encouraged to bring their class to the library to show the board to the students and have a play. You couldn't keep me away! I absolutely loved it. I would go and visit after school and sometimes in my own lunch break. :D
The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.

Anyway at the end of the year, I transferred to a different school down the road where I was employed as a full time classroom teacher and technology coordinator. I chose this school because of the high standard of education that was happening and because they had ordered Promethean Activboards to arrive during the year.

So throughout the year, I continued providing interactive experiences for my students using the data projector - and there was only one for the entire school Kinder to Year 6 (14 classes in all) which made it a bit difficult.
At my previous school I taught Stage Two (year 3 and 4 combined class, two teachers, staged learning, team teaching) and we had our OWN dataprojector which we used multiple times a day, every day. :p

I waited patiently and finally at the end of the third term (nsw has 4 terms, each 9-11 weeks in duration) they arrived. It wasn't until early term 4 that they were installed and we had a session with the Promethean rep. which was really good. Since then, we've been able to get into the library and use the board during our library lessons but that is about the only access we have at the moment, due to timetabling issues. :confused:

Nothing much has happened this term apart from the teachers using the Interactive White Board as a data projector. No one is using flip charts yet except for me and a couple of interested teachers, but that is okay. When they are ready, they'll start asking questions and trying different things. :rolleyes:

Next term we're organising another session with the Promethean rep to show us some more advanced skills and the teachers are going to be given their own copy of the software to install at home.

I was lucky. I already had the software from my previous school so I've been able to play around and create my own flipcharts, research new skills on the Promethean website and start talking to the teachers about what they can do. The enthusiasm is starting to spread . . . :p

My principal asked all staff members at the end of last year if they would like their own interactive white board in their classroom. All teachers (except one who is not comfortable with technology) said yes. This term our principal was talking to some parents informally and she said that in the future we will have them in all the classes.[clap]

I'm still waiting for this to happen, but at least I know that we are all on the same page.

Also, I read an article about implementing new technology into a school. The author recommends that you have to do this slowly. You have to make sure that the teachers are ready for this change through professional development and providing support.

So, the message is . . .
Change takes time in schools. Start talking to other staff members about this new technology and what they've heard about it. Share your ideas with the Technology Coordinator and Principal. See what they have to say. Start finding out about other schools in your area.

And remember, it won't happen overnight, but it will happen!

I'm still waiting but I know the day will come, and I can't wait!

Good luck, and let me know how you go. +wave+

[John Simon]

Good Advice,

You may also want to contact local businesses about sponsoring a board in your class. You will not know unless you ask. Often PTO or PTA parents are good resources for funding as well. I got my board because a parent saw a board in another school. Within two years our school is at 100%. All it took was for someone to open the door.
I also have some other resources at: alaskainteractive.ning.com. I wish you the best.

en:joy