Wheeled the IWB from the upstairs hall into my classroom this morning and attempted to use it for some basic but fun activities: First, I just projected some brain scans onto the board from my computer, using it as a simple projection screen. But then, I put up a notebook file with a chart on it, so that students could sign up to bring various food and party items for an end-of-year celebration of learning we are planning to invite our families to.
Although this use of the IWB was not math related, it showed me that using the tool works – I can plug it in, and the room doesn’t explode! I also saw how motivated students were with the technology. Finally, wheeling the school’s existing Smart Board into the room confirmed for me the need to order a wall mountable unit, as the amount of real estate the moveable one takes up is out of control!
Two dawbacks are immediately evident from this short exercise: Recalibration and Shadows.
If the students bump into the table on which the projector sits, even just a little, it seems to throw everything off, and the IWB needs to be recalibrated, a short but irritating exercise if it has to be done every five minutes!! Will need to remember to train the students in not bumping into the projection table. The other frustration was the shadow, but as Jim Cash predicted, the students really do figure it out fairly quickly, and stand to the side of the projection.
Two dawbacks are immediately evident from this short exercise: Recalibration and Shadows.
If the students bump into the table on which the projector sits, even just a little, it seems to throw everything off, and the IWB needs to be recalibrated, a short but irritating exercise if it has to be done every five minutes!! Will need to remember to train the students in not bumping into the projection table. The other frustration was the shadow, but as Jim Cash predicted, the students really do figure it out fairly quickly, and stand to the side of the projection.