Assignment2 Interactive White Board (IWB)

The traditional way of teaching has been improved recently by the use of emerging technologies such as iPods, Mobile phones, digital cameras, and laptop. Modern technologies in educational settings give a great deal of opportunities to explore interaction between teacher and students, and among students in the classroom. One of the great possibilities of teaching delivery methods is interactive whiteboard (IWB). The purpose of this essay is to explore the uses of interactive white board (IWB) in language learning and teaching. Thus, this paper will discuss how the IWB can support learning and teaching in the English language classroom. There are four parts of this essay in the following of introducing IWB application, the teaching and learning values of the IWB, implications for using IWB in a language classroom and discuss negative effect of using IWB.

According to application, Schmid (2006, p48) indicates that “Interactive white board (IWB) is a touch- sensitive screen that works in conjunction with a computer and a projector.” IWB has useful multiple functions such as manipulating text and images, making notes in digital ink, and saving notes for later review by using e-mail the web or print. In the education area, it is mainly used as viewing website as a group or whole class, demonstrating or using software to the front of a room without connecting computer, creating digital lesson activities with templates, images and multimedia, and using presentation tools that are included with the whiteboard software to enhance learning materials. Therefore, IWB can bring the world of media into the classroom learning with real life.

The value of IWB is firstly to promote students’ engagement. Engaging student can be seen from being able to input new information easily used vidual display in the forms of diagrams, webs, and pictures with colours to highlight text for students. IWB seen graphic and software dramatically through the internet stimulates their impressive rather than the ordinary materials. In addition, visual aid helps ESL /EFL students learn to acquire language. According to scaffolding theory, Jamie (2000, p7) shows that visual scaffolding using IWB is great way to provide comprehensible input interestingly for ESL/EFL students. Scaffolding is the term of “the provision of appropriate assistance to students in order that they may achieve what alone would have been too difficult for them.” (Jamie, 2000, p6) Visual scaffolding removes affective filter which makes student obstructed their input of language because of attractive and interestingly. Therefore, IWB can support ESL/EFL to imagine what the teacher is describing the key words and comprehensively. Moreover, quick access in the feature of IWB keeps the pace of learning and teaching controllable. Compared with a traditional blackboard, it takes time to change the previous screen into next screen because teacher needs to not only erase the words but also writing with chalk. Breaking the sequence of lesson leads to loss of pace suddenly. Some students are playing game, using mobile phones, or chatting with other students while a teacher is writing on the black board turning their hips in the student’s side. However, IWB can navigate through materials quickly and smoothly because of preparing the content commanding of saving, editing, retrieving stored data beforehand. (Wood and Ashfield, 2008, p89) Furthermore, using IWB provides the activity as a group work and a whole class. It leads that every student included high level and low level of student can get involved in the class collaboratively. Active classroom in an interactive group with multimedia is one of the beneficial features of IWB. Traditional way of teaching is focusing on teacher centred through answering the questions. Sometimes low level of students does not catch up with what they are talking. However, IWB can get involved with every student having different background of ESL/EFL supported by visual images and audio device. IWB affects the students’ motivation positively because of interactive learning activities. The wider movable screen can get students’ attention enthusiastically longer than blackboard even normally short attended students. Smith, Higgings and Miller (2005, p95) point out that it is mostly influenced by pupils. The teenagers will not be long for coming in front of forward the board aggressively because they are shy rather than pupils. However, IWB is possible to access variety of resources as authentic contents in seconds with sounds, video and images depending on the topic. That variety can stimulate the secondary students’ interests. In addition, using IWB is focusing on not a teacher but the lesson itself. Traditional method of teaching was one way of lecture or practice using drill. As a result, the lesson was monotonous way of teaching for students. On the other hand, IWB can play several roles of instructors which have explaining, modelling, and instructing with different authentic multimedia tools such as videos, softwares, and website in the classroom. Therefore, that will be more motivated for students to learn.IWB improves lesson preparation easily, motivating teacher and saving huge bank of resources that teacher used. The preparation is streamline because of starting up easily for teacher and student. In addition, teacher have motivated when they obtained positive feedback from students who were taught on the basis of the lesson plan to incorporate digital resources. Furthermore, compared with traditional preparation, the lesson note can be kept for next time by saving function of IWB. The traditional way of preparation is to make a lesson plan, print and projector that are used in the class separately so that it is troublesome to organize them neatly after a lesson. Also, if they need to revise the lesson after reflecting and evaluating, they have to redo making print or lesson plan again. On the other hand, IWB does not need to spend time consuming for editing it repeatedly. The development of reflected lesson plan can keep longer through IWB than traditional way of preservation. Moreover, IWB contributes not only for saving up lesson plan but also for furnishing data to other teachers. Smith et al. (2005, p94) show that saving materials and using network through IWB easily give a great opportunity to share resources with other schools via internet.

Considering of using IWB at secondary high school in Japan, there are 3 possible implications based on English language context. Firstly, IWB is effective tool in reading comprehension class. For example, it takes much time to write sentences on the black board. While teacher was focusing on writing with less attention to students, they can do anything such as using their mobile phones, reading comics, and chatting with their classmates. In addition, teacher cannot write whole sentences because of the limited space to write. From my experience, students requested to describe the meaning of Japanese in the English sentences in secondary private high school. Unfortunately, there is no choice to grant their requests because of no time and no space. However, IWB can provide student attention constantly because of quick change of screens. Also it can put anything on it with no limitation of time and space. Also it has additional useful functions such as highlighting, hiding key points, and audio aid. These can use for improving reading comprehension when student predicts the words from hidden blank in the one paragraph. Secondly, authentic materials help students to grab their attention as an introduction of the topic or warming up of the lesson. According to traditional teaching methods, teacher showed actual objects or the pictures from books, prints that they made. However, it is not enough to catch their interests recently. The familiarity of their materials is now shifting such as digital materials used modern technology. Searching Internet will be one of their daily routines. In addition, Japan is an EFL environment so that students do not have many opportunities to recognize around the countries. IWB can have great deal of possibilities such EFL learners to get to know the world as an warming up of the lesson such as introducing the country and person using websites such as CNN student news and official website of the topic, or dynamic short films such as You tube and National Geography to connect the society and world. Therefore, IWB has an excellent possibility to take students to real world from the narrow classroom. Lastly, software using IWB is effective tool as student centred task. The options of software in the area of secondary English language learning for EFL are delayed rather than mathematics and the elementary English language learning. However, the softwares via IWB for practicing grammar and vocabulary will be useful because every student including high level and low level of students can get involved in the class. For example, in terms of grammar class, it is effective to use lexical error questions. Teacher shows students letter such as greeting letter or invitation and let students discuss to check the mistakes of lexical grammar as a group. Then, they highlighted these using touch pen or their fingers. The materials should be included several levels of mistakes from basic to advance level of English proficiency. Vocabulary software can provide students to improve their pronunciation skills because of working audio function in IWB. Schmid (2006, p51) points out that specific software gives learners to increase new vocabulary and enhance their pronunciation. Thus, it is obvious that IWB can affect teaching methods of EFL Japanese secondary high school more interestingly, dynamically, and effectively.

However, it is essential to investigate the impact of negative factors using IWB in teaching and learning. It is argued that there are three to discuss. First problem can be seen from the application of IWB. Sensitive screen will not reliable if it does not catch the sensor appropriately because of too much consuming the surface. Glover and Miller (2001, p268) point out that negative impact of IWB is freezing of the screen. Slow response to access leads to missing students’ attention. Also it is doubtful to use screen more than one person at the same time in the group activity. In addition, the size of IWB is not enough for students who has from 30 to 40 people in the classroom such as in Japan and China. Student sitting back of the room will not be clear to see and catch up with the class using IWB screen because of too smaller size than blackboard and bright of a fluorescent light. Secondly, it is poor of teacher training provided. IWB has a great potentiality to use as a student centred teaching and communicative language teaching because of engaging students and getting involved in the class. However, the ambiguous use of IWB leads to the same way of using blackboard. Dudeney and Hockly (2007, p122) indicate that teacher centred approach instructs passive audience in fact. It can not be applied for interactive class unless teachers are familiar with the proper use of IWB. Also, Glover and Miller (2001, p273) suggest that it is necessary to change pedagogy for using new technology. Traditional pedagogies such as grammar translation methods and teacher centred approach are not suitable for using IWB. Methodical and practical training is crucial factor for teacher to use IWB appropriately. Finally, it is crucial matter of high cost to provide IWBs in every classroom. Generally speaking, the price for one IWB range about from $1050 to 2240( 1€=A$1.38) depending on the functions. It is much costly for school budget to prepare IWBs individually. In Japan, now private secondary schools are confronted with reducing school budget because the population of Japanese children is declining. This phenomenon penetrates into public school administered by ministry of Education. There are schools which have no other choices to cut teachers’ income for maintaining the school management. Therefore it cannot afford to invest new applications for improving teaching quality. As a result, introducing IWB at secondary high school in Japan has to be considered above these points at least.

Thus, it can be seen that IWB as an emerging technology has a great deal of useful application on teaching and learning. Also, it can affect to contribute teaching and learning on the English language classroom in the area of engaging student, enhancing their motivation, and preparing teaching resources. Though it has varieties of implications for using IWB in the real context, it remains difficulties in practicality in the following factors of uncontrollable screen, lack of teacher training, and huge cost to provide at school. However, it is obviously that an interactive white board has a plenty of opportunities to support teaching and learning in the future.














References
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