“The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.”
- Karl Marx
When the interactive whiteboard (smart board) was introduced, it seemed to show a lot of promise in the technological reform of the classroom environment. That is to say: teachers were now able to write on the board without the use of a pen or chalk and record their lesson... all at the same time. Evolutionary? I think not.
I thought the idea of coming up with new technologies and implementing them into the classroom was to initiate change and promote moving forward amidst global innovation. How is this being achieved with the new and “innovative” interactive whiteboard, which is essentially a glorified (and need i mention - ridiculously pricey) upgrade to its perfectly effective predecessor.
I went to the trouble of asking the opinions of a couple of my colleagues who have had access to teaching with this gimmicky pedagogical aid for the past few years. It seemed as though the general consensus was that the boards were mildly helpful and reformative, but that the teachers were largely using them as projection screens and certainly not to their full capacity...does this imply that the boards are not as useful as they are made out to be, or does it hint at the age-old myth that we cannot teach old dogs new tricks?
From the moment I started my undergrad study at university, I have been constantly aware of these reformed whiteboards and how they are rarely in use. Having matriculated from school prior to implementation of the new board’s technology, I was actually quite excited about getting stuck in and figuring out what they were all about... and now (after years of exposure) I am beginning to lose sight of their former intrigue. I believe that teachers would be happy to make use of interactive whiteboards if they were able to see a possibility for potential and the chance to make a difference in reaching out to their learners.
So perhaps the education departments and technological institutes are getting ahead of themselves - trying to develop modernistic and experimental products that are of no significant value to the enhancement of our lessons. While for now I’m happy to pass this off as a technological brain-fart, I will wait patiently and in peace for the perks and tweaking of the latest upgrade to be perfected...because, let’s face it, there is bound to be a version 2.0.
