Article Review on Technology in Education - Essay Example

Technology in rooms Technology in rooms The advancement of technology has altered the processesand operations in all walks of life. The field of education is no different. An article has been chosen that highlights one of the technological inventions that has benefitted the field of education and has improved the learning processes to a great extent. The article has been written by Julie S. Koven with the title “SMART Boards Make Smart Students: Systemic Change with Interactive Whiteboard Technology” in 2008.

This article discusses the interactive whiteboard and its impact on acquisition of education in a class session. The author describes the technology as the combination of a computer (coupled with internet connectivity) and a projector. The projector is used to create a touch-screen display on a whiteboard that might be mounted anywhere in the classroom. Koven (2008) stated that the touch feature of the screen enables the users to write and erase notes on the board and even control the computer applications that might be running on the computer.

The author explains that screenshots can be taken of the board that would facilitate future reference to the information. Figure 1: Display of a mathematics problem with teacher’s notes on the interactive whiteboard (Koven, 2008) SMART Technologies Inc. (2006) stated that the interactive whiteboard provides the functionalities of a traditional blackboard since teachers and students can write on it with ease and it also serves as a multimedia connected to a computer that can project websites, images, videos, documents and applications to make the lectures more interactive and interesting.

The article discusses the advantages of interactive whiteboards in his paper and explains how this technology proves to even help students with special needs and disabilities. This invention is creating a positive impact on the learning processes of individuals since it facilitates an interactive session between the teachers and the peers. Koven (2008) explained that the innovative technology even provokes the silent observers in the class to participate in the discussions. The teachers are able to organize their lectures before time and incorporate various types of multimedia objects to increase student’s knowledge.

Latham (2002) conducted a research in which teachers were contacted for their feedbacks; two third of the teachers stated that the interactive whiteboard offers effective approaches to create interactive sessions; interactive sessions increase the level of interest of the students. This technology has also facilitated the learning processes of students who have disabilities like, visual impairment and hearing disability; this is achieved by the incorporation of different types of objects in the interactive sessions.

I feel that the introduction of this technology in the academic field will make students and teachers more technology savvy; especially prepare the students for their professional careers where the use of such technologies is common. I feel that the next step of this two dimensional display (2D) will be the 3D display; this technology is underway but has not been made commercial by reliable sources. The integration of interactive whiteboards will diminish the concept of physical books due to the presence of information from the internet, visual and audio sources.

Due to the wide acceptance of this technology, more students with disabilities will be encouraged in the future to acquire education. In the end, it would not be wrong to state that the availability of different mediums and objects (to understand any concept) has improved the pace and quality of the learning processes. The aspect of interactivity in the class sessions enhances the interest of the students, as compared to the monotonous lectures of the conventional modes of teaching. References Koven, J. S., (2008), SMART Boards Make Smart Students: Systemic Change with Interactive Whiteboard Technology, Framingham State College.

Latham, P. (2002). Teaching and Learning Primary Mathematics: The Impact of Interactive Whiteboards. Beam Education, Retrieved from http://www.beam.co.uk/uploads/discpdf/RES03.pdf SMART Technologies Inc., (2006), Interactive Whiteboards and Learning, Retrieved from http://www2.smarttech.com/NR/rdonlyres/2C729F6E-0A8D-42B8-9B32- F90BE0A746D8/0/Int_Whiteboard_Research_Whitepaper_Update.pdf