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INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS

Project Title	Pedagogical Enhancement Through Interactive Whiteboards in Rural and Regional NSW Schools
Project Team	Ms Sue Gregory, Dr Jan Connelly, Mr Tony Brown (SiMERR NSW), Mr Steve DiLuzio (University of New England)
Period	October 07 – June 08
Funding Agency	SiMERR
Organisational Base	SiMERR NSW

Description

Interactive Whiteboard technologies (IWBs) are increasingly being employed in rural and remote schools ahead of urban schools, in the belief that the technology will enrich rural and remote students’ learning experiences. Through the use of IWBs, with internet and other Web 2 communication networks, students and teachers can link their classrooms to limitless resources and heighten active engagement in learning. Currently, IWBs function dominates professional development as teachers seek the new knowledge and skills. However, to ensure that what drives the tool is widely endorsed, the pedagogical practices surrounding IWBs needs careful consideration. Teachers need to ‘see’ what constitutes effective practice specific to particular key learning areas, and how, through the employment of IWB technology, learning outcomes can be effectively achieved. This project sets out to address this professional development need. Across various Year levels and inside varied KLAs, the project aims to capture ‘best practice’ video teaching episodes. There will be inclusive of teacher ‘talking head’ discussion and teacher educator commentary around planning, teaching and assessment of learning. The project’s product will be an instructional DVD to be used for professional development purposes in rural and remote schools.

The two main research objectives of the project are:

To document pedagogical enhancement through IWBs in rural and remote NSW schools using video including teacher educator and student commentary; and
To create an instructional DVD for professional development purposes in remote and rural schools

To achieve these objectives the project will:

Capture video exemplars of rich pedagogical practice related to IWBs in rural and remote schools in Cobar, Walgett, Bourke, Coonabarabran and Gilgandra; and
Question teachers and students about IWBs and their effectiveness and impact on teaching and learning.

Teachers identified has having good were recommended by the School of Education Director, Bourke, the ICT Consultant for the Bourke Region and the Itinerant Support Teacher Hearing Relieving Assistant Principal, Dubbo. Video was taken of classroom teaching using the Interactive Whiteboard and of discussions about the videoed sessions to clarify the learning aims, the links to the curriculum documents and the specific Stage and Learning Outcomes being targeted. These also sought to make explicit the alignment of IWB pedagogy with the NSW DET’s Quality Teaching Framework and the seven elements of the NSW Teaching Standards. Teachers also provided a critical reflection on the lessons.

Participants

Rhiannon Logan (Cobar Primary School), Darrell Peck (Cobar High School), Steven Schier, Ray Brooks, Tim Lloyd (Gilgandra High School)

Findings

Outcomes

Conference presentations

Connelly, J., Gregory, S., (2008, August) Pedagogical Enhancement through IWBS. Paper presented at the IWBNet 5th National Annual Conference, Firbank Grammar School, Brighton, Melbourne, Victoria.
Connelly, J., Gregory, S., (2008). Teaching the Teachers. Paper presented at the IWBNet 5th National Annual Conference, Firbank Grammar School, Brighton, Melbourne, Victoria.

Impact

This project is still in progress. Video footage has been taken and limited editing undertaken. However, the footage of IWBs in use and the interviews with the teacher educators and students are of excellent quality and will go towards creating an exceptional educational professional development DVD for teachers in rural and remote locations. It is believed that the DVD will be embraced and used by teachers who are not able to physically attend professional development days. There is a good cross section of footage with primary and high schools and across different KLA’s.

Pedagogical-Enhancement