Projecting the future: Using interactive whiteboards in the business classroom Marian Kenward Introduction Business Studies teachers have been at the forefront of information technology since the introduction of the Business and Information studies GCSE back in the 70s. We have dealt with the changes of hardware, such as BBC computers, Amstrad, Apple Mac or PC, and improved our skills and knowledge of the different versions of software, passing this onto our pupils. We carried on teaching much as before, acknowledging that the Internet was indeed a wondrous resource for up-to-date materials. The latest tool rapidly being introduced into the classroom is the interactive whiteboard (IWB). Charles Clarke, Secretary of State at a recent DfES conference stated Whiteboards are proving to be really effective, but we need to see many more in schools than at present. This guide first of all examines the potential benefits of using IWBs in the business classroom and gives sources of further information. The second section, Curriculum materials, provides examples of different applications that can be used effectively with an IWB, along with links to relevant software and sample activities. Part 1 What is an interactive whiteboard? An interactive whiteboard, combined with a computer and data projector, can provide significant opportunities in the classroom. For example, information (such as a slide show) held on the computer can displayed on the IWB and then adapted and annotated by drawing or writing directly onto the IWB. The links below provide further information about the different types of IWBs and some of their advantages for the classroom: ICT Advice website: What is an interactive whiteboard? [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=te&cat=004&rid=521] ICT Advice website Ask an Expert Questions and answers about IWBs addressed by a previous theme [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=ae&page=questions&theme =46] Why use an interactive whiteboard? Does this new piece of equipment give the business teacher more tools than a computer and a data projector? The research to date claims it can transform wholeclass teaching. To read more about the research, including reasons for using an IWB in the classroom, go to: 1
Becta ICT Research website: What the research says about interactive whiteboards (PDF file) [http://www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/docs/wtrs_whiteboards.pdf] ICT Advice website: The benefits of an interactive whiteboard [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=tl&cat=004002&rid=86] ICT Advice website: presentation technology section [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=te&cat=004] Glover, D. and Miller, D. Running with technology: the pedagogic impact of the large scale introduction of interactive whiteboards in one secondary school. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education vol 10, no 3, 2001 [http://www.triangle.co.uk/jit/] It is not just about an interactive replacement for your existing whiteboard. With the addition of electronic slates/digital pads (for example, Promethean s ACTIVslate or RM s ClassPad), pupils do not need to come to the front of the class, tripping over bags in order to interact with the screen. They can do it from their seats. These types of devices are ideal for building up mind or concept maps from individual or groups without waiting for individuals to fight over space at the board. By using an activote device you can devise your own who wants to be a millionaire or test the nation type classroom quizzes. Examples of interactive whiteboard suppliers Mimio [http://www.mimio.com/index.shtml] Promethean Activboards [http://www.activboard.com/index.htm] RM Classboards [http://www.rm.com/lea/products/] Smart Boards [www.smarttech.com/] A more detailed listing of suppliers of IWB and accessories can be found on Becta s Accredited ICT Service Suppliers website [http://www.ictchoice.org.uk/step3.php?username=&customer_id=&arrquestionids =&questype=&prod_type_id=17&route=b&showall=1] Why use an interactive whiteboard in the business classroom? The familiar cry of do we need to write this down, Miss/Sir? will echo across many a classroom as the teacher fills the board with the important aspects of the lesson. Using an IWB you can dispense with the pupils having to take notes from the board, as you can record your writing to a file or send it to the printer. This gives a much brisker pace to the lesson and enables pupils to focus on the actual discussion without worrying about note taking. This can increase the pace of the lesson and motivate pupils. Any time you need to physically draw graphs whether it is supply and demand or a simple product life cycle you are able to recall them from the hard disk at a point of a finger or pen. 2
Surely a PowerPoint slide show will enable you to do this? It s true that a well prepared slide show with all the relevant teaching points, multimedia stimulus and a prepared print-out of the slides for everyone in the class can enable pupils to interact with the lesson. However, there are times when a particular slide leads to ideas/concepts that the teacher may not have considered when preparing the lesson. An IWB allows you to make notes on top of each slide, similar to an overlay, which can be saved and printed when necessary. The IWB gives all pupils access to a large display and enables you to teach from the front of the class. Using the board, you can progress through the slides, visit a website or open another file, rather than pressing the mouse button or a key on the computer. Indeed, once switched on, you should not need to move towards the keyboard or mouse for the entire lesson. If pupils all have a touchpad or keypad, you can use software such as Hot Potatoes to increase the interactivity with the whole class. The teacher can bring up the questions and the pupils can choose the answer. By displaying anonymous responses on the IWB the teacher can easily see the errors and misconceptions of a particular topic and correct them. By using hand-held scanners you could display individual pupils work on the board. This can demonstrate how pupils, rather than the teacher, answer a particular question; it therefore creates a different atmosphere in which mistakes are not treated as negatively. If pupils work is displayed in this way it may increase their understanding of difficult business concepts and terminology, demonstrating far more clearly that there is not just one correct answer. The perfect answer does not always exist when answering case study questions. Pupils need to develop their skills of analysis and evaluation, weighing up the scenario and interpreting it in light of their own knowledge. Any true misconceptions will allow for further debate and communication between teacher, individual pupils and the whole class. Software or website demonstrations Spreadsheets are the basis of many finance lessons, and the introduction to the use of formulae in calculations has to be demonstrated to the class. Before data projectors, one would talk the pupils through the process, writing the relevant formulae on the board, and provide additional help sheets when the activity got under way. The data projector enabled the spreadsheet to be shown in front of the whole class, the teacher demonstrating the process from the computer. The IWB is used in similar way, but all the control is from the IWB and not the computer, thus enabling the teacher to be at the front of the class. The teacher can also overlay the spreadsheet (as above) with notes, which can be removed if no longer required, or saved and printed. In the same way, a website can be shown to the whole class and the important aspects annotated easily and quickly. Simulations such as the Virtual World on the Bized site [http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/] can be interacted with as a whole class, the pace controlled by the teacher rather than indiscriminate clicking without consideration of the text or pictures in front of them. 3
Part 2 Curriculum materials The teaching activities below provide classroom material for use with or without an interactive whiteboard. I would encourage you to investigate these materials, some of which have been designed by trainee business education teachers at the University of Brighton. Is the subject enhanced by being used with an IWB? Does an IWB offer real advantages to the learning process? The examples offered here cover: o concept maps and mind mapping o interactive files o Hot Potatoes. Concept maps and mind mapping The interactive and collaborative way of working with an electronic whiteboard has a great advantage when developing thoughts and ideas. IWB software has at its heart a flip chart, which means that concept or mind maps can be easily drawn and annotated. By drawing on the IWB, either using an electronic pen or your fingers depending on the type of IWB, you can build up a map as you would with a normal whiteboard. However, instead of clearing it from the board in order to continue the lesson you can add another page, save it for future use and print it. This can then be shared and easily retrieved for development. By using specific concept or mind-mapping software, diagrams can be made more visual and can be linked to other sources of information. An electronic mind map creates the map on the whiteboard, moving a concept is a matter of drag and drop. The software then connects it to the relevant idea. This process is more creative and flexible than paper and pen mind mapping, as it is easier to make amendments and additions without over-complicating the map. An added bonus is that information links from other electronic sources, such as websites, Word documents and images, can be incorporated. Examples of concept and mind-mapping software MindManager [http:// www.illuminesoftware.co.uk] Inspiration [www.inspiration.com] Available from TAG Learning (certified UK dealer) [http://www.taglearning.com] Examples of concept maps Two examples of concept maps can be downloaded from the Inset Pack area on ICT Advice Business online Inset [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/businessinset]. 4
MindManager viewer is required to view them. The viewer is available for free. [http://www.mind-mappingsoftware.co.uk/mm-free-viewer.htm] Interactive files The following examples demonstrate how you can use commonly available software, such as Word or Excel to create interactive documents by using text boxes and pictures. They could be used as starter activities or in plenaries, wherever pupils need to develop subject knowledge. Each of the files is available to download from the Inset Pack area on the ICT Advice Business online Inset. [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/businessinset] History of EU Integration: This is a Word document which asks pupils to drag and drop the flags and events onto a time line. Name that Flag: A Word document for pupils to match the flag to the correct EU countries Name that Flag: An Excel document with multiple-choice drop-down boxes for testing pupils knowledge about the flags of EU countries. Europe Millionaire: A PowerPoint quiz about European issues in the style of Who wants to be a Millionaire. Supply Chain: A Word Document in which pupils are required to drag and drop the boxes to order the supply chain correctly. Payment: A Word document originally designed to help pupils understand purchasing and cost implications of hire purchase and credit card APR. It was originally designed for pupils to use at single computers; however this could be used on a whiteboard with the whole class. The Ferl website has many tutorials about creating similar resources using many common applications. [http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=360] By using the IWB to access websites, activities on those websites can be used with the whole class rather than being limited to paired work at the computer. You can then highlight the important aspects covered on the website or work through a simulation together. For example, you could use: The Europa Challenge [http://www.edu.dudley.gov.uk/c2000/europa/ceuropa/index.html] The Virtual Economy. [http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/economy/] Hot Potatoes Within the business classroom you will use questioning as a means to assess pupils learning. This may be verbally with directed questions, through a written differentiated test, or by using questions from a business textbook. Business textbooks go out of date, may be aimed at a wide audience, and may make general 5
assumptions about learner needs. It takes an inordinate amount of time to ask verbal questions of all pupils at the beginning or end of every lesson, as does the marking of any written test. You may have thought of buying ready-made computer based exercises to make this more fun but have had problems finding exactly the correct level or relevant subject area. To make questions and tests more interesting and interactive, you might consider creating gap-filling activities in applications such as Microsoft Word (for example, by using the Form tool bar) or, similarly, by using Excel, where you can put in formulae to mark the questions for you. Both these methods are useful within the classroom, but they have their limitations and can be time consuming to develop. Alternatively, the Hot Potatoes suite is a good way to create interactive online resources that will appeal to pupils with different learning styles and which stimulate their interest. They are easy to use from both the teacher s point of view when creating the questions (quizzes), and for the pupil, who simply has to point and click or drag and drop depending on the exercise. Hot Potatoes can also be designed to provide pupils with support as they progress through the activity, either with hints or feedback. If the exercises are well prepared, with suitable hints and detailed feedback for every answer, pupils should become more fully engaged in their own learning. I am not suggesting you use these quizzes as a formal assessment of a pupils ability. For one thing, if this is completed at home you would not be aware of how much help had been given either by parents or books. It is, however, very useful as a method of scaffolding pupils progress towards understanding specific business terminology. The variety of quizzes will help to keep motivation high, with pupils having control of the pace with instant feedback. You can also involve pupils in their own learning process by letting them design their own quizzes to test each other. The material produced could then be used as starter or plenary activities in current and future lessons. Used with an IWB, Hot Potatoes quizzes and their interactivity are one of the easiest and best ways to enliven your teaching materials. The Hot Potatoes suite can be downloaded from the Half Baked Software website. [http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/] Hot Potatoes is free to use for educational purposes, provided that you make anything created using the software publicly available. This can be easily done by uploading your creations to: The Teacher Resource Exchange (for pre-16 resources) [http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk] Ferl. (for post-16 resources) [http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=16] Several examples of Hot Potatoes activities are available to download from the Inset Pack area on ICT Advice Business online Inset. [http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/businessinset] 6
The Ferl website has several tutorials for creating activities using Hot Potatoes. [http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?page=365] 7