Harnessing Interactive Whiteboard Technology to Motivate Students and Enhance Learning

Richard Walker
Cambridge Univ. Press

• Date & Time: October 29, 2005 1:00 pm ~2:30 pm
• Place: Shirokane campus, Rm. 2202

Synopsis

While only 7 people attended the presentation, it was both interesting and educational. Richard Walker introduced both the interactive whiteboard (the "Starboard") and the software that comes with the board, as well as several commercially available titles.

It is evident that the interactive whiteboards, while still a new and unfamiliar technology, can be used to integrate all aspects of foreign language teaching--both static and interactive text, sound and video--in one centralized location, the whiteboard. By turning the "pen" over to the students, instructors can engage students in their own language learning and acquisition in a way that other presentation mediums do not allow.Abstract

"Recent advances in technology have created considerable opportunities for teachers to vary the way in which material in presented and practiced, and increased ways in which learners can gain exposure to language outside the classroom. Multimedia and the internet provide powerful and motivating ways for learners to practice outside the classroom, facilitating learner autonomy and engagement, and they have also greatly expanded the ways in which students can interact with language as they learn. In addition, with the advent of high tech interactive whiteboards, we have the possibility of seamlessly integrating audio, video and the textbook, as well as the ability to easily customize and create our own material to supplement and complement published course material. Such customizability is increasingly vital if we are to consider the differing goals, motivations and needs of our learners. We as educators must both be aware of relevant new technology and work to create opportunities for our students to take advantage of these powerful new tools. But what multimedia and technology specifically designed for ELT are available to help us in this regard?

In this presentation, we will demonstrate new features of the interactive whiteboard, look at whiteboard software from recently published ELT materials, and explore how this new technology can be integrated with traditional classroom materials and activities to create a more motivating learning environment. We will also demonstrate software for other disciplines such as science and mathematics. Participants will be invited to try out this exciting new technology."

About the lecturer

Richard Walker (MA Linguistics-TESOL; Univ. of Surrey, UK) has been involved in ELT through teaching and teacher training for over 15 years. He has taught in the UK, Spain and Japan, and has presented at local and national conferences in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. He is currently Commissioning Editor for Cambridge University Press, based in Singapore.

For more information, contact the Center for Liberal Arts, MGU: 03-5421-5390 (10am~6pm, M~F).

For more about the Hitachi Starboard family of products, please see their Starboard home page.