I watched a repeat of an episode of the television series Undercover Boss where the Chancellor of
the University of California at Riverside (UCR) spent part of his time undercover
assisting Professor Catharine Larsen (photo below) teach a chemistry class. The class was state of the art, almost like
an online class in a brick and mortar classroom. The technology fascinated me.
In this episode the professor delivered her lecture
interactively with students using whiteboard technology. They were reviewing for a chemistry exam, the
professor wrote the sample questions that were reflected on the whiteboard, the
students selected their multiple choice response by clicking it on their hand
held device that was connected to the whiteboard program, and the program then
tallied the responses and gave statistics such as what percent of the students
got the correct answer. When the
percentage of correct answers was unsatisfactory, the professor reviewed the
materials/lesson and students then clicked in the answer again. The end result of the one example that was
televised showed the percentage of correct answers had improved to an
acceptable level.
The embedded video (access via link below) - Designing Lessons for
Interactive Whiteboards Part 5 Clickers
- is an example of interactive
whiteboard technology that demonstrates how the clicker actually works. Kelly (2007) said that in the next 5,000 days of the web “We have to get good at
believing the impossible”, because technology has already done what no one
imagined it ever would, and it will continue to do so. Clickers and interactive whiteboard
technology are examples of the impossible coming to fruition in elementary,
secondary and higher education classrooms, like I saw on the television show
and as was demonstrated in the YouTube video.
The rhymes of history, according to Thornburg, are “the
affect or impact of new technology that rekindles something from the past”
(Laureate Education, 2009). Interactive
whiteboard technology using clickers is revolutionizing instructor/student
interactions. This technology rekindles
the long ago days when instructors lectured for hours, wrote on chalkboards and
handed out tests on boards or paper, and students wrote answers in chalk, pencil,
crayon or pen and ink.
I was taken with how engaged a class of 250 students was
throughout the lesson the instructor at UCR delivered. Part of that engagement, I believe, was the
inclusion of the interactive technology that was used to instruct, deliver
course materials, and assess student mastery of subject matter.
References
Kelly, K. (2007). Kevin
Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web. Retrieved from
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Rhymes of history. Retrieved from
Anetha,
ReplyDeleteWe actually have SMART Response clickers for each classroom in our school and they are just as exciting for teachers and students to use at the elementary level as it was for you watching the college professor. This new technology has enhanced students' motivation to participate, as well as serving as a great tool for teachers to use for assessment, evaluation of data, and to be able to give further instruction immediately based on the results. You did a great job highlighting how this technology is an example of a rhyme of history. Where do you see this technology evolving to in the future?
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to know someone who uses the clickers. I rarely see whiteboard technology being used in the K-12 schools where I sub sometimes, and the adult school where I teach hasn't evolved to that degree at all yet, so your perspective is a delight! I can imagine students who seem to love technology and can use it expertly fairly easily would benefit from using the SMART response clickers to engage them in a lesson and enhance their learning.
Thanks for sharing your insight on this topic.
AJ