Latest on the Project Work

Last week was an important week, since I was able to put online 2 questionnaires regarding technology and the use of IWB's inside the classroom. I feel extremely happy with the answers I have received, and I would like to reach the number 50!I'm almost there!Now I finally feel that I'm on the right track, possibly because - at last - I have produced something material, something touchable. Tomorrow starts an important week because I hope to meet a teacher at the British Council who uses an IWB often and because my 11th graders are going to speak with a Polish volunteer by using Skype. Of course that the IWB will play an important part in it!

"Googleling"

Tonight I surfed the Web in search of information regarding smartboards. I must confess that I was extremely amazed with the number of results I got. Google is a very nice search engine and it allowed me to see that there are some interesting Portuguese projects I would like to contact so as to enlarge my view on the IWB. I think that my project work on this topic will be very challenging and useful to my professional future...

This week marks the beginning of my practical research work regarding the use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) in 11th grade English classes. We could only start on 27th September due to the disappearance of the software associated with this smart tech device. As usual with big schools and lots of people, it took some while to find where the installation CD was.
When it finally appeared (safe and sound) I had already gone to the company’s website and downloaded it, in order to install it in my own computer. Although we could use a school laptop, I decided that it would be safer to use my own so, my students and I are going to use it throughout the school year.
My first experience was quite rewarding. In spite of feeling that I am still very far away from knowing 100% how the IWB works, I could notice certain important features, such as the ability to use and to work on images taken from the Internet (about cultural diversity and Australia), and to display videos taken from YouTube.
My aim for the following week is to enlarge my knowledge on the potentialities of Interactive Whiteboards, namely by exploring smart tech’s website, where one can find tutorials and suggestions concerning the use of IWB inside classrooms.