Taylor Whitten

To best determine if smart boards are beneficial in the classroom setting and their effect on teachers and students, I conducted the following research:

 

I preformed a survey amongst 43 elementary school teachers to uncover how they felt about smart boards. I used the online survey method, survey monkey to conduct my study. The purpose of the survey was to see if teachers believed smart boards would be a useful addition to their classroom environment. The outcome was full of overall positive responses, meaning smart boards would be a helpful addition to the classroom. One hundred percent of the teachers I surveyed believe that smart boards do successfully engage students. Most teachers’ responses supported how smart boards would solve the problem I presented in my study. They described smart boards as “interactive, engaging, and hands-on.” The teachers also described the smart board as being useful to visual learners who have been held at a disadvantage in the past due to the lack of visually pleasing educational resources. However, the smart board virtually appeals to all type of learners because it can be touched, seen, and heard. Smart boards are able to “accommodate different learning styles. Tactical learners can use the screen and learn by touching and marking on the board, audio learners can have discussions and visual learners can observe the teaching on the board” (Professional Learning Board). The survey participants supported my research of the smart board benefits, which stated the usefulness of saving lessons. My research and survey results revealed the great interactive activities that the smart boards possesses, which allow for students to learn by doing and putting the information they learned into play.    

 

My research demonstrated how smart boards can be a lifesaver to teachers. If smart boards are incorporated into the classroom, teachers will have more time to give to aid struggling students because they will not have to worry about planning the same lessons over and over again year after year. They can have more time for small group instruction or interactions with individuals. For teachers, smart boards are universal. They can use them for every subject and lesson due to the preprogrammed activities. Teachers can use their computer and smart board to, “project an image; a test; a web page; a page from a book; or an actual three-dimensional object for, say, a science experiment” (Warren). Lastly, “research has repeatedly demonstrated that students learn better when they are fully engaged and that multisensory, hands-on learning is the best way to engage them” (NEA).

 

Students, who are the main reason to purchase smart boards will receive the greatest benefit from them. The students can use them as if they are pen and paper to practice skills. They are able to “write on the board using electronic pencils, then remove mistakes with an electronic eraser” (Warren). The smart board also gives students a better way to interact with each other. They can encourage each other to speak up and participate when they might not of been inclined to (governor solutions). In younger elementary classrooms such as kindergarten and first grade, the smart boards allow for teachers to preform motion activities. Smart boards are beneficial for the younger children who “have short attention spans and respond better to instruction if it includes movement and hands-on actions, such as getting up to answer a question or demonstrating how to use a tool” (Concordia Online Education). Lastly, research has proven that a student needs fast feedback in order to continue to learn. They need to see what they preformed correctly as well as incorrectly. The smart board allows for students to “punch in their answers to questions on the boards, and the teacher gets immediate feedback on how many students were right or wrong. Then, the class can go over the answers without having to wait three days to get the graded tests back” (Warren). Smart boards will help students to gain an understanding on topics that they might of struggled with in the past due to all applications available at the teachers’ fingertips. 

 

• The question at hand when prompted to purchase smart boards for an entire school system is will they actually be used? And if so, how much? Smart boards are a major investment which requires extensive research and surveys to answer this question. My survey proves that 82.5% of teachers use their smart board for instruction everyday, which is way beyond the majority. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The second question would be if teachers believed smart boards would be more effective than traditional PowerPoint and/or overheads. Once again an overwhelmingly majority of 79.07% said yes.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The point of going to school and receiving an education is to mold students’ minds. As educators, we need to uncover the most valuable tools for doing so. I asked teachers what their belief was regarding students better retaining information when it was presented to them using the smart board. Well over the majority of teachers, 95.24% answered yes to this question while only 4.76% said no. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The two most valuable questions I asked the teachers are based off of their beliefs on the effectiveness and usefulness of the smart board. The first question is asking if they believe the smart board helps to actively engage and/or involve students in the lesson. The second question is asking if they think that using the smart board during a lesson excites the students because it is visually appealing. Both questions received a 100% yes from all teachers surveyed. These are huge selling points in favor of the smart board due to the fact that to teachers, they actively serve their main purposes. According to Lexipedia, the engagements/involvements of students are directly correlated with their participation and interest levels. Lexipedia defines engagement/involvement as connecting with others based off of a common feeling or belief. This demonstrates that if students’ engagement/involvement increases then so will their participation and they will in turn influence their peers.