KS1 Experience
Use of the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) played a major part in my ability to use technology to make lessons engaging for the children. I often used interactive, whole class activities to break up lessons by getting the children up and moving. The children enjoyed maths games where they lined up and had to figure out the answer to the question when they got to the front. Through making it into a game they thoroughly enjoyed their learning. The IWB also allowed for me to use transitions to reveal answers, which offered an excellent way to utilise formative assessment. For example, if a question was on the board, I could use PowerPoint / active studio to reveal the answer and children could mark their own work and I could assess.
The below image is a screen grab from topmarks.co.uk, one the games that I used in Ks1 to aid learning.
KS3 Expereince
Similarly, when I observed some KS3 lessons I noted the use of the IWB in every lesson that I saw. Teacher’s would utilise similar strategies in revealing answers and using the board so that everybody could see neat and well-presented work. Although there were less games in KS3, most teachers taught with something on the board behind them. This was helpful in allowing them to visibly demonstrate concepts and ideas to the children and conduct formative assessment of the whole class. A notable example of this was a maths lesson that I saw yesterday, the teacher had shapes on the board and would use her arm to cover different sides of the shape that the children needed to ignore at first. Here she was engaging with technology in the deliverance of her lesson.
I also observed the students using iPads for research and this was like my experience in a primary school. Students could use their digital literacy and build ICT skills through increasing familiarity with the device. They could develop new ways to present work and access a wealth of secondary information.