Smart Boards Replace Dusty, Old Chalkboards, Kick Markers to the Curb and Engage Students.
BY CHERESA CLEMONS
This summer, as I sat in a movie theater with my soon-to-be 13-year-old son, Kyren, we watched the movie Jobs, the life story of Steve Jobs, the founder of .Apple. Glancing over, I could see the confusion on my son’s face when examples of “ancient” technology were shown—like the black and white Atari Video Game System and the Polaroid Camera. My son registered extreme dismay when Jobs was shown listening to a Discman (also known as a CD Walkman). After the movie, it didn’t help Kyren’s disequilibration when I told him that, once upon a time, I had every one of those items and was thrilled when I got them for presents.
KYREN WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 2000. He is one of the millennial kids. This means anything not in color, anything that can’t be used with a swipe or saved to a computer storage “cloud” is problematic … not to mention just plain weird, probably even whack. When these millennial kids are in the classroom, they expect their regular tech-
nology … only bigger. So an iPad, which typically is used by one or two at a time, needs to be seen and used by an entire class to get its attention, and that’s where the 85-inch interactive whiteboard (also known as a smart board) comes in. I’m not that old, but I remember when microwaves had knobs. It’s hard for a millennial kid to fathom that. As a
teacher-educator, I want my pre-service teachers prepared for kids like Kyren, because right behind him and his peers are legions of toddlers swiping at smartphones and opening apps. When they swipe at a book or magazine and nothing happens, you can see their faces scrunch up in puzzlement. My students are part of a different generation, and while a few of them are quite apprehensive about even touching a massive electronic board, most are excited and eager to learn how to use this tool before entering K-12 schools. They realize many schools nowadays have a smart board in every classroom. Part of my job is to make sure the dustless, high definition board does not intimidate them. My Zen-like mission is to have them “become one with the board.” My quest starts the first day of class. “You all will touch this board and more than once,” I tell them. Some say “yippee,” while others—old and young— begin sweating. By the end of the semester, everyone has forgotten about the blackboard and dry erase board.
NCCU SCHOOL OF EDUCATION TEACHING MATTERS
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