Chapter 1 Review

In the first chapter of Engaging Learners with Interactive Whiteboards, information is given about effective uses of interactive whiteboards(IWB), instructional benefits, student achievement, instructional challenges, and teacher training.

IWB's are useful in many different types of classrooms. The book mentioned several different ways that  IWB's can be utilized in the classroom, including: highlighting, dragging and dropping information, importing pictures, using multimedia content, providing feedback that is activated by touch, and student response systems. In my future music classroom, I could utilize interactive whiteboards by highlighting and coloring sheet music. I can project the music on the board, but also highlight and color parts of the music to help students identify dynamics, or form in the music. This brings about a whole new dimension of learning. Chapter one also discussed instructional benefits of IWB's. Two of the benefits mentioned that I feel are very important in the music classroom are lesson organization/flow, and enriched instruction by increasing student attention, motivation, participation, and collaboration. The IWB can be used to create organized lessons that consist of all the music, videos, and sheet music needed for each lesson. Teachers can play videos, mark music, show diagrams, and much more during their music lessons, on the IWB. The IWB can also keep students engaged during class time. Students want the opportunity to come to the board and play with the technology, so they will be motivated to behave and work hard during the lesson. In the music classroom, it is very important for students to work together and act as a learning community, especially when singing in a choir. IWB's help students participate together and collaborate with each other on ideas and projects.
One of the most important subjects I feel the book discussed was the need for professional development concerning use of technology. Teachers should take every opportunity they can to learn more about how to use and implement technology in the classroom, more specifically IWB's. I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge of IWB's and learn how to use them effectively in my classroom, helping my students achieve at the highest level possible.