Interactive Whiteboard Lessons Made Accessible

Putting new technology into the hands of students can invigorate and add excitement to even the most mundane topics. Imagine your students eagerly vying to be the first to complete daily oral language practice or be the first to answer a list of math facts. Many educators are using interactive white boards to add a new level of engagement to their lessons. 

Interactive whiteboards allow teachers and students the opportunity to interact with the computers in their classroom in a whole group setting. This connection to visual media brings a wealth of new learning opportunities. Second graders in Arizona are sorting spelling words this way. Seventh graders in Alaska are studying salmon, dissecting them virtually, and creating life cycle charts with the data collected. Children on the Navajo reservation are visiting museums and virtually exploring the gardens that inspired Monet. Students in classes across the country are learning outside the box of traditional education using this type of technology. 

Making new technology affordable and accessible for all learners is the goal of countless educators and administrators. Many tech savvy citizens are helping with this endeavor by providing the necessary know how to make an interactive whiteboard with limited resources. Teachers can watch a video about how to make a low-cost multi-point interactive whiteboard using the Wii remote. There is also a tutorial you can read that explains how to make an interactive whiteboard for less than $50. 

With such amazing tools creating an ever-expanding knowledge network, the possibilities for classroom integration are endless. 

Interactive White Board Lessons:

Character Scrapbook

Using interactive technology students create a comprehensive scrapbook of characters from books they have explored in class. The lesson is designed with an open ended format that allows the instructor to identify the characters they would like students to focus on. 

I Can Help the Weather Announcer

In this lesson students are guided through the process and procedures of weather data collection and making weather predictions. Using an interactive whiteboard, they then collect their own data and create a bar graph depicting the dew point temperature and humidity. 

Introduction to Ancient Egypt

The teacher acts as an explorer and facilitator in this introduction to ancient Egypt. Students view fun- filled clips and comics related to Ancient Egypt then work through a variety of interactive stations enriched with vocabulary and content based tasks.