1st April 2021

A Beginner’s Guide to Smart Boards

Let us imagine combining a good old fashioned chalkboard, a touchscreen computer with interactive lessons all in one, and there you have a smart board! A smart board has been recognised and is regarded as one of the key dynamic educational technology tools within the education setting. It is a replacement for the traditional overhead projector, that comes with many benefits when being utilised properly. 

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Smart Board In My Lesson? 

Using a smart board is a great way of enriching and enhancing your lesson plans from tedious to enjoyable and interactive activities with your students. It is interactive in the sense that it acts as a computer touch screen for all; when teaching you can use it as a tablet and students can write on the board like a chalkboard. This creates a space where students’ knowledge, engagement and teamwork is acknowledged.

Whilst the smart board helps in making your lesson more interactive, fascinating and constructive, it still requires you as a teacher to tailor your lessons to what you want them to be. Therefore, it is advisable to think more carefully when structuring your lesson plans ahead of time. When you do this, it assists you to avoid any setbacks in your lesson and instead transition smoothly from one task to another. 

How Can I Use A Smart Board In My Lessons?

Amazingly smart boards are pre-installed with software which enables you to engage with your students on the various tasks, alternating from lessons on mathematical fractions to show an illustration of a pie being divided by different amounts, to filming students on their TV show task for Drama lessons. As you can possibly agree, a smart board is an excellent resource for students to be able to see and hear their task activities; so don’t overlook combining the visual and audio inclination of the technology in order to get the best out of your lesson. 

In addition, a smart board not only amplifies the way teachers teach, but it also complements and strengthens the way students learn. Through this, as a teacher you are able to fit in the distinct learning styles.  When you fit in the different learning styles, this helps to create a positive classroom atmosphere and environment where all your students are included and are encouraged to express their knowledge and understanding of their work. In your lesson, you will be accommodating tactile learners who are able to learn by touching the board, and visual learners who can observe the task on the smart board. 

Make it work for you!

With the COVID era of education, it is now more than ever that smart boards are being utilised to their full potential. It may be a bit of a daunting experience when you first use smart boards, but just like exploring any new gadget, you could practice using it more often, and eventually you will become a pro at it. So take time to play around with it, and always remember smart boards are there to foster inspiration and innovation to make your lessons in the classroom manageable, fun and effective.