The Digital Educator 2 | Page 8

In the 21st-century BPS classroom, interactive whiteboards have taken the place of traditional chalkboards from the past. Interactive whiteboards allow for interactive, digital instruction and use ActivInspire software that both students and educators can collaborate with to enhance the teaching and learning experience.

New emphasis on developing 21st century skills for students, the requirement for educator proficiency in technology, and research documenting increased learning with the use of interactive whiteboards have been the reason why it is popularly used in classrooms today.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that students learn better when they are fully engaged and that multisensory, hands-on learning is the best way to engage them. Interactive whiteboards facilitate multisensory learning whether it is a collaboration exercise for math problem solving or a Google Earth tour of the Amazon rainforest.

Teachers report that increased student engagement is the number one benefit to teaching with this tool. The technology allows teachers to integrate multiple information streams into a coherent lesson individualized for their students. Interactive white boards provide an extraordinary opportunity to create classroom environments where students with different learning styles can engage and learn from each other. This easy-to-learn technology ensures that both students and teachers are developing 21st century skills.

The Buffalo Public Schools Instructional Technology team is committed in providing relevant and quality interactive whiteboard training to its teachers and staff. This is in effort to support its mission of integrating efficient learning technologies into instruction to enhance the classroom experience for students.

Here are some valuable Promethean Whiteboard ActivInspire software tips adapted and customized for BPS teachers.

Additional whiteboard support and information can also be found on the BPS website.

Instructional Technology

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If you'd like to build a flipchart based on a theme, create a page with a background and duplicate the page using the Popup Menu in the Page Browser.

Adapted from Promethean's ActivInspire Top Tips