Double Entry Journal #2

"Teachers can use the smart board to support the students’ learning styles." Web 2.0 and Emerging Learning Technologies/Learning Styles. Wikibooks I realize that this quote is very small, but having observed teachers using the smart boards (hers was a Promethean board) and desperately wanting one in my future classroom, I have decided to expand upon this one little sentence. The smart board, like the section said, is in my opinion perfect for all learners. The teacher that I observed who used one was a special education teacher. She also taught classes for students who failed the English portion of the LEAP test (Louisiana's version of high-stakes testing). Not only did the smart board help the different types of learners in her classroom, but most of the students were so excited to use the technology that they didn't mind that they had to do work that they were apathetic about or had difficulty understanding beforehand. She started her LEAP classes by posting a paragraph on the smart board that had grammar issues that needed to be corrected, much like on the tests the students take. She gave them about 15 minutes to work on it and then the students were able to come up and correct the mistakes. These 7th and 8th graders were as excited as little kids getting to play a game on a computer. It was very evident that regardless of the learning disabilities that they had or the apathy towards school, they tried their best to work at their desks to get the correct answers so that they could not be embarrassed in front of their peers if they were chosen to go up and show their work.