Technology has grown so much over the years. A few years ago I notice a new technology that has been integrated in most school districts. Its called a smart board, and it is an interactive whiteboard system. Now the key feature in this technology is the interactive feature. As teachers part of goals is to have students engaged in class. Students want to be able to focus on thing creative, such as video games. Video games are not a waste of time, because if you develop a cool concept and introduce some fun characters; it will be possible to entertain a general audience. My first interaction with the smart board was when I went to substitute for a teacher and one of the lessons required the smart board. I am tech person, so figuring out how to operate the system was not an issue.
I
would use this technology to show my students how to compose a image
within their camera before they click on the shutter button.
I am a digital photographer, so most of the lessons will be taught on
a computer screen.
Most people in the world own a cell phone and each phone has camera.
You don’t need a high end camera to take beautiful pictures.
My goal is to teach students three key factors: composition,
lighting, and technique.
In relation to my previous statement, I would then show my students
example of the difference between a good image and a bad image.
Composition is essentially the placement or arrangement of visual
elements.
Lighting allows use to control the exposure of a subject.
Technique is knowing the capabilities of camera and using it to your
advantage.
In other words if you want to take pictures of a race car event, you
want to freeze the subject (car) but add a little blur to the
surrounding area around the car.
Also the key to make sure the subject is in focus.
The benefits to the smart board is that I can show them clips of a
race car event and have them focus their camera on the whiteboard.
The smart board costs about $6,295.00. That is an expensive hardware that will come from the schools budget. Most schools already have a smart board, so I would not have to make a personal investment. If I were to convince the school to purchase a smart board I would explain the interactive elements. If we want students to excel academically, then we must adapt to the technology around us. It is important for us to use technology because it is another form of communication.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U05WeXPGlk
Hey Phillip, I attended a private high school that was equipped with smartboards in every classroom, and quite frankly it seemed to be a bigger hassle than they were worth. Most of the teachers had no idea how to use them and the ones that did were always dealing with tech problems. They would call the IT people in and they would make a ruckus fooling around with the system. After wasting 15-20 mins the teachers would eventually start to just wing their lesson without their prepared material. I think the technology is great and extremely useful when it works and it is incorporated correctly. Teachers need to go to training for this tool before they start bringing it into their classrooms.
ReplyDeleteSmart boards are very fascinating tools for the classroom. I myself am starting to learn how to use them through substitute teaching as well. The students really like them, too. Whenever I have a question on how to work the smart board, every kid is eager to help me out! They are a great way to keep the kids engaged since they love coming up and writing on the board. As art educators, I thought they would be great for us to use for demonstrations. That way everyone can see what you are doing from their desks rather than crowd around you and not see at all. Unfortunately I have not seen smart boards in the art classroom yet. Hopefully that will change.
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