Internet Research for TechQuest

Results and New Learning
With just a few short key strokes and a click of a mouse, there usually is no shortage with the amount of results on an Internet search, and this was without a doubt what happened to me with looking for research and information on using SMARTBoards in the classroom as a way to improve student performance, engagement, and interaction through increased teacher training with using a SMARTBoard in a regular classroom setting. As usual, Google seems to always be a good starting point with me, but after reading the Valenza article, I know I need to work on looking at and honing in on other search engines that could result in information that would be more useful and relevant to what I am looking for. For this project, I used Google as well as http://www.findarticles.com, which gave me a great deal of information that was both useful and relevant, but like always, it takes time to sort through the zillions of hits that searches can give you. From Google alone, I have learned that while sometimes "less is more" when it comes to typing in your words or phrases into your search box, many times the opposite, or the "more is less" notion is also true. By this I mean, while there are times when being very specific about what you are looking results in a more narrowed down and focused list of hits that limits your need to spend a needless amount of time clearing out what you don't need, there are other times, when typing in a narrowed and specific search phrase limits the number of quality hits you get to the point of making the search itself useless and unproductive. Both of these issues are something that I faced with my search for good information on SMARTBoards, but I do find that the more searching I do, the better I have become at finding what I am looking for in a relatively short amount of time. From one of my most favorite sites, Teachers Love SMARTBoards, there is a way to search within the site itself for lessons, ideas, and even research, so being able to do a "search within a search" is also a great way to narrow-down a focus or "search-need" and this was also something that I did with this project as I primarily used the inquiry approach to locate information on what other teachers have to say about using SMARTBoards in their classrooms, what administrators/principals have to say about using SMARTBoards in their schools, as well as what researchers have to say about using SMARTBoards in education. Being an avid user of Google, I was unaware of it's capabilities with http://scholar.google.com and in general, the next time I search for research type of information, I would like to try some other search options such as that or even http://www.doaj.org/ as a way to initially wade through the number of hits that a basic online search can yield.

Annotated Bibliography

Beeland, William. "Student Engagement, Visual Learning and Technology: Can Interactive Whiteboards Help?." N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr 2010. <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.135.3542&rep=rep1&type=pdf>.

This is an action research study that was designed to determine if when interactive whiteboards are used as an instructional tool, do they have any role with regards to student engagement. This study used data gathered from teachers and students after lessons where interactive whiteboards were used and lessons where they were not used. In the end, the data showed an overwhelming preference by teachers as well as students with using the interactive whiteboard as a tool in instruction, as student engagement and student interaction dramatically increased in the lessons where an interactive whiteboard was the tool of focus.

"Improving student learning outcomes and streamlining lesson planning." Interactive Whiteboards and Learning. (2006): 2-13. Print.

This paper brings together interactive whiteboards and research as well as case study observations from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on how interactive whiteboards, and specifically the SMARTBoard affect learning in several ways. One of the most interesting of those is the research that indicates that notes taken on the interactive whiteboard (Notebook feature) plays a key role in the student review process which leads to higher levels of student attendance. This piece of research also indicates that interactive whiteboards helps educators to streamline their preparation and be more efficient in their information delivery and technology integration which also increased their overall productivity.

Killon, Joellen. "Critical Issue: Providing Professional Development for Effective Technology Use." North Central Regional Educational Laboratory 1999: n. pag. Web. 11 Apr 2010. <http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te1000.htm>.

Because the key factor in getting more teachers in my building to use SMARTBoards in their classrooms, is successful teacher training, this article which does a fantastic job at narrowing down the do's and the dont's with regards to what effective teacher training looks like, this article is going to be a very helpful tool in allowing me to provide a "best practice" approach to training the teachers in my building with the use of SMARTBoards as a learning tool. Through it's many links and resources, this source will also continue to become an increasingly more important reference as I learn how to move my staff along into a more 21st century way of thinking with regards to using a SMARTBoard in classrooms.

Marzano, Robert. "Teaching With Interactive Whiteboards." Educational Leadership. 67.3 (2009): 80-82. Print.

Within a study that is named in this journal article, using an interactive whiteboard in a classroom resulted in a 16 point gain in student achievement. This article continues on to say that although interactive whiteboards have great potential to enhance pedagogical strategies as well as student learning, these tools can not do this on their own and still must be used with what we know as "best practices in teaching and student learning" in order for students to reach for their potential using a positive technological implementation tool.

"My board is smarter than your board!." Lake Havasu Unified School District #1, n.d. Web. 01 Apr 2010. <http://www.havasu.k12.az.us/archive/smartboard.html>.

Along with 2 embedded video tutorials on the use of SMARTBoards in the classroom, this site also offers information on features and pricing of interactive whiteboards as well as how this district decides how its teachers are chosen to be the "chosen one" with getting an interactive whiteboard in their classroom. They state how teachers must have a designated number of hours of training on a SMARTBoard as well as post lessons they create on a server for other district employees to access and utilize along with the submission of a report at the beginning of the year that names their annual goal for using the board in their class as well as a report at the end of the year that states whether or not they met their intended goal or not.

"Raising student achievement with technology: Jennings School District, St. Louis." American Association of School Administrators, 2005. Web. 03 Mar 2010. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_7_62/ai_n15622447/>.

According to this article, students of the current generation are very visual, and therefore the use of an interactive whiteboard is a very powerful learning tool that meets the needs of these types of learners as well as those that are kinesthetic as well as auditory because of the whiteboards unique ability to offer so many styles to its teaching and learning practices. It also claims that students become more verbally polished with their delivery of information to others as they explain their thoughts and ideas which is an idea that will move them forward in college and business and throughout life.

"SMARTBoard Demo." YouTube. Web. 08 Apr 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=319sEUWZ6zk>.

This video offers a five-minute introduction to the SMARTBoard and serves as a visual representation as to what SMARTBoards have to offer educators and students with teaching and learning.

"SMARTBoards, Why are they so easy to use." YouTube. Web. 08 Apr 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U05WeXPGlk>.

This is a great three-minute video clip that gives a brief explanation as well as a brief introduction to the SMARTBoard and it's ease of use by students and teachers in an elementary classroom. Because so many people are visual learners, I wanted to make sure I offered an opportunity for my teachers to "see" what it was that they would eventually "do."

"TechBoston Academy student achievement skyrockets with the use of SMARTBoard interactive whiteboards.." SMART Media Releases October, 2005: n. pag. Web. 31 Mar 2010. <http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/About+Us/News+Room/Media+Releases/2005+Media+Releases.htm?guid={F3359CD0-9D0A-4133-8A7C-0B8D7336CE1C}>.

Aligned with ISTE, TechBoston Academy integrates technology in all academic courses using SMARTBoard interactive whiteboards for lesson planning and delivery and that was considered to be the key factor in raising the level of student achievement on the MCAS standardized test which is the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System that is administered to students in grades 3-8 to measure student achievement with Massachusetts' State Standards.

Starkman, Neal. "The Wonders of Interactive Whiteboards." T.H.E. Journal 33.10 (2006): 36-38. Web. 03 Apr 2010.

This article describes in detail what the interactive whiteboard has done for student engagement and student interaction in a school in Canada where its number of suspensions used to outnumber its number of students prior to the implementation of the whiteboard as a teaching tool. The overall atmosphere in this building changed with the introduction and implementation of the interactive whiteboard, and student scores went up considerably while student referrals plummeted to near single digits after the interactive whiteboards were put in place.

"What I hear I forget.
What I see I remember.
What I do I understand."
Confucius