Kollie, Ellen (2008). Interactive Whiteboards. School Planning and Management. Retrieved April 6, 2008 from http://www.peterli.com/spm/resources/articles/archive.php?article_id=1705
Earlier this week, Emily asked me if all the classrooms at my school had interactive whiteboards. It has been a matter of great pride for my principal to boast that we now have IWBs in all of our REGULAR education classrooms. We have no IWBs in our special education classrooms, and what a shame that is.
This article gives the testimony of special education teachers whose students have thrived using IWBs. Teachers of students with mild learning disabilities loved the IWBs because it helped them to both introduce lessons and reinforce them. Most students with learning disabilities need information presented to them in more than one way. IWBs are perfect for this. I would think classrooms for special education students would benefit MOST from IWBs. With the high demand for performance for our students with "special needs", I would think it would be a priority to get this sort of technology into the classrooms to assist in learning.
IWBs were also found to be beneficial to students with more severe problems like autism. Teachers said the whiteboards helped students improve social behaviors and have increased student motivation. Even the severe autistic children benefit from watching the other students interact with the board.
I feel like my school is leaving out an important part of its population by ignorning the needs of special education students. I know money is a problem, but I don't think it is fair to equip all the "normal" students with state-of-the-art equipment and neglect those who need the extra help the most. Most of our special needs students do receive a majority of their services in co-teaching classrooms that do have IWBs. However, in the "most important" (as so deemed by state testing) classes of language arts and math is when they are most likely to be pulled out to resource rooms. Shouldn't they be reaping the benefits of IWBs like their nondisabled peers?
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3 comments:
Jessica, thanks for responding to my question! I think it's wonderful that so many students at your school can benefit from the boards but I completely agree that it's a shame the special ed classrooms are overlooked. This would be such a valuable tool for them. So often, "normal" kids can learn regardless of how material is presented while the opposite is true for LD kids who must have alternative forms of instruction to grasp concepts. I hope your school will eventually reconsider its decision. As for the article, I'm printing it out right now so I can show it to my coworkers. I'm completely sold on these boards and this just adds to the arguement. I am really starting to see how these boards could increase achievement in all students, especially students with special learning needs.
Reading your post made be think about the students who "like" using IWB's the most in my classroom. While everyone loves to use them (I have one student who looks to see if the green light is on as soon as he walks into class), I would definitely agree that LD students would benefit greatly. I think the saying goes "You learn best by doing." Wouldn't this fall into the category?
I am so glad you are working on IWBs too. At first I thought this sight was not going to have anything for my primary students but I was wrong. I really liked the dinosaur bone building. Also, several of the math sites would be helpful. What a collection for me to share with our school and all the teachers who use SMARTboards. Thank you.
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