Running Head: WHITEBOARDS IMPACT ON TEACHING SEEN AS UNEVEN 1

Whiteboards Impact on Teaching Seen as Uneven

Kristie Kosinski
Molloy College









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Abstract
This article describes the benefits and detriments of using the Smart Board in the
classroom. The traditional chalkboards are no longer the primary tool to present material to
students and are quickly being erased from classrooms across the country. The Smart Board has
gained praise and criticism since being introduced. While some educators believe the Smart
Board is necessary for presenting material and engaging students in a lesson, others feel the
Smart Board is just a fancy upgrade from the chalkboard and technology does not make or break
a good teacher.
Keywords: Smart Board, benefits, detriments









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The article Whiteboards Impact on Teaching Seen as Uneven, states how educators
have different stances on the use of Smart Boards in the classroom. This new, powerful tool has
definitely changed the idea of standard instruction in the classroom. Some teachers agree that the
Smart Board has improved instruction and engaged students in their lessons, while others say it
is just a fancy upgrade from the chalkboard and is hard for educators and students to use.
Students in Kent County High School have become major fans of using the Smart Board
in the classroom. Their teacher, Lonnise Gilley, uses the Smart Board to instruct her students on
the new lessons she creates every day. The students are completely engaged and cannot wait to
come to the front of the board and use the Smart Board. The educational experience is
completely interactive and makes topics such as the Pythagorean Theorem easier for her
students. (Manzo 2010, p.34) In Gilleys classroom, the Smart Board is also used for games and
challenges to prepare them for assessments. Students are fascinated with tapping the board and
watching the changes, using color coded pens, and using the hand held remote to pass through
points of the lesson. Across the country, chalkboards are no longer being used as a primary tool
for presenting material. Smart Boards help students develop not only academically but
technologically. Smart Boards are now purchased for schools through administration and parent-
teacher organizations.
Smart Boards allow educators to use the Internet to show their students audio and video
presentations, as well as previously recorded lessons. The boards help modernize the classroom
and have gained following from old school teachers. Kent County school district believes the
5,000 board per classroom is a necessary investment and dramatically changes how enhanced
their lessons are and how involved the students have become. The article goes on to further
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explain the advantages the Smart Board has contributed to the classroom and how some teachers
went from hating it to being obsessed with it. The interactive learning adheres to all learning
styles and makes children excited in what theyre doing. Some criticisms of the Smart Board by
educators includes the cost, the programs required of them in order to use the board efficiently,
and the idea that a Smart Board doesnt make or break a teacher or how they follow through with
a lesson. In other words, some educators believe there is less expensive ways to implement a
lesson and keep students learning. In addition, other old school teachers just see this technology
as a glorified chalkboard with no real value to how a teacher teachers or how a student learns.
The article persuades and shows that the usage of the Smart Board is significantly
beneficial in the classroom and keeps students engaged in the lessons being presented to them.
The motivation and participation from students has increased and this unique product has made
the classroom experience completely interactive and fun. Lessons are paced appropriately and
images, audio, and graphics from the Internet give the student a chance to participate in the
content. The Smart Board helps incorporate good teaching with the help of technology.
Standards, curriculum, and instruction are three basic areas that come together and are shown
with the use of this board.
The Smart Board should be purchased and implemented in all classrooms. It use is for
students of all ages and keeps them motivated and interested in what they are learning. This
article provides both stances on the Smart Board, but it is obvious that the good surely overplays
the criticism.

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References
Manzo, K. K. (2010). Whiteboard's impact on teaching seen as uneven. Education Week,
03(02), 34. Retrieved February 8, 2014, from
http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2010/01/08/02whiteboards.h03.html?tkn=QQWFGsflvbpIP3
wLbE9ZLSCF3Up1hdXzpWQr