Getting Children Involved in the Classroom

If we want children to be more interested in learning, then shouldn't we create a learning experience that is more exciting? That is one great thing about interactive white boards, they allow children to get involved in classroom lessons. As we say in Early Childhood Education, 'passing the pen'
is important for children to be engaged in a lesson.

One great aspect about interactive white boards is that they allow for multiple methods of teaching. Using the interactive whiteboard teachers can allow children to move things around on the board, zoom in on objects on the board, have instant feedback on their choices, and so much more! Teachers, if they have the tools, can also allow children to do an anonymous vote on something being discussed in the classroom. The way this works is that children are provided a clicker that allows them to chose their answer, and it be anonymous, also providing on the spot feedback. I would love to be able to use this tool in my future classroom, so that children's answers are not influenced by peers, at least not as much as they would be if the vote was done through the raising of hands.

Not to say that it won't be a challenge to get use to implementing the tools in my classroom, but it will definitely be worth the struggles in the beginning. Although these tools take a lot of training, it is totally worth the training if it means that my children will be more interactive in the classroom. Evidence shows that children who are involved in classroom learning are more likely to achieve at a higher level.

Thus, to reach those higher potentials of learning, I plan to implement the interactive white board into my future classroom, in as many ways as possible. I personally have experienced using the interactive white boards in several classroom settings, and they are an awesome learning tool, but unfortunately are not used as often as they could be. Therefore, I want to make the interactive white board as useful as possible, not only for me but also my students. I plan to use the interactive white board to have classroom votes, for interactive learning, and as a simple tool to discuss and explain specific classroom topics. I would also like to use the interactive white board to go on virtual field trips with my children. Although these are the main ways in which I know how to use an interactive white board thus far, I plan to learn about other ways to implement it into my future teaching.

Wikis in the Classroom

Even though blogs are interesting, there is so much more one can do with a wiki. Teacher’sFirst described wikis as a way for continuous editing of a document. Therefore, when there is continuous editing, isn’t the product only getting better? Maybe yes, maybe no.

In terms of Wikipedia, it is great to see everyone’s thoughts coming together to create a meaning and/or document on a specific term or topic. However, how do we know that information is always correct? We don’t. Yet, the great part about this aspect is that everyone can learn and bounce ideas off one another, and although the answer may not be 100% correct, it can be edited. However, this is an issue when it comes to using Wikipedia as a source, because we do not know that the information is always accurate. However, wikis can be used in multiple ways, they do not just have to be used as a source.

Some Ways to Use Wikis in the Classroom

This is what makes wikis so awesome, because they can be used in a variety of ways for educational purposes. I personally would love to use wiki’s as a part of my future classroom, and not only for my students, but also my parents. One reason I think it is a great tool is because it allows children to bounce ideas off of one another when working on a group project. It will also allow them to continually edit their work, and it can promote teamwork, within the classroom. If we want classroom’s to be a community, then we must provide tools that support that community aspect. Secondly, as for my children’s parents, I think it could be a great tool for multiple reasons. First off, it allows parents to communicate and share ideas, and discuss them as a group. Secondly, with wikis I can share so much more with parents. This, along with many other reasons, is why wikis are a great tool for classrooms. Yet, the only thing, as mentioned previously, is that one has to be careful because people can change and turn things around. Therefore, the discussion of how to work on a wiki with others is very important, as we do not want anyone to think that their contribution is not appreciated. 

All in all, wikis are a great tool, and as our world becomes more and more technology based, I think it is something that classrooms should look into using more often.