Interactive Whiteboards

      I think interactive whiteboards enhance learning in so many ways. There are so many activities you can do with the interactive whiteboards. Lessons can now be more hands on and can involve students coming up to the board to many things, besides just using a marker to write. Students and teachers can use the interactive tools to measure,  match states, draw letters, watch videos, play games, and so much more. This technology was a little difficult to learn how to use. The Smartboard can be very picky about certain things, so sometimes this can be very frustrating.
     There are many benefits of having a Smartboard installed in your classroom. Learning can be fun for the students, with using all the different interactives. Interactive whiteboards can also be used as a center activity in the classroom. Students could go to the whiteboard during center time to do an activity that the teacher has set up.  I think the magic pen could be very beneficial to use when teaching a geography lesson, you could zoom in on certain areas. Downfalls to having an interactive whiteboard in the classroom could be that sometimes the whiteboard will act up, so you have to think on your feet to alter the lesson, or fix the problem. Also, sometimes the pens can be a little tricky to use so the students and the teachers need to learn how to use them. 

          In the past I did a current event lesson on Chile. I could have used the whiteboard to show pictures of Chile and to zoom in on certain areas. I have done a lesson on the Underground Railroad, the interactive whiteboard could have been used to play videos, show pictures, and as a post assessment tool using the games. I have also done a counting lesson for kindergarten. I could have used the Smartboard to show the students the order of the numbers. Then I could of had them come up and drag the correct numbers into position.