I did it! I created my first ever whiteboard lesson. Yeah for me! I must say, that creating an Interactive Whiteboard Lesson was nothing less than frustrating and exhausting for me. This is a program that I have never used before so I made many errors while putting this together. As I fumbled my way through the program, I became lost in the possible design features. Do I want to use a click and reveal design? Or, perhaps a pull out tab? Maybe a fill in the blank. It was a case of too many choices.
Once I stepped back and studied the actual lesson, meaning the information I wished to convey to the students, it became a lot easier. I realized that as long as the information transfer occurred in the right order, then it didn’t matter if my border color was green or purple.
I can see how this type of lesson would be attractive to learners seeing how it mimics the effects they see on some tv programs – bold & colorful to capture attention yet when used with a minimum of visuals not too distracting.
I would treat this tool the same as any less technologically advanced tool that came before it such as overhead transparencies, visual or audio aids. I would make sure that it aids in the learning and does not distract from the class focus. Again, it needs to enhance the content and not distract from it because of the way in which material is presented. I’m sure in time I will come to depend on presenting lessons with this tool the same as teachers that came before embraced all that the overhead projector offered over the chalkboard.
One sure impact that this assignment had for me was the realization that I need to pay attention to my own professional development. I need to practice these skills constantly. And, if I cannot manage the software, device or whatever it may be, I need to seek out help as opposed to spinning into a feeling of desperation. The SMART Exchange is a definite addition to my delicious account!
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