so i just got done working on the wiki for the class project, and i'm ready to reflect a little bit about new technology. before this project i've never done anything with wikis and my experience with wikis has come to confirm what i've always thought about new technology: spend time with it, be willing to struggle a little at first, and you'll be ok. the trouble spot is the initial experience. it is upon this first meeting between joe patron and new technology that mr. patron decides whether the initial effort and struggle is worth it. No one can decide whether the technology is worth the trouble for joe other than joe. Sounds obvious but i wonder how much this is considered when new technologies are put out there. I have an actual real-life example of this situation. At Bethel we have a large number of commuter students who live off campus. A lot would go into figuring out whether it would be worth it for the Writing Center to offer tutoring using whiteboard technology and part of my struggle with this situation is trying to figure if this technology were to be utilized, tutors trained, and students infomed, whether it would actually be used. In other words would that initial struggle to get used to the new technology be worth it. One interesting issue associated with tutoring in writing with this technology is the fact that it the communication between student and tutor would in most situations probably be mediated with writing. In other words in a one-on-one meeting student and tutor communicate orally which can really help people who struggle with writing. This technology would provide a new set of struggles for already struggling writer. technology has its downsides, some of which are less apparent than others.
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I've seen the nifty white board hooked into a computer set up. I don't know that I've seen it used, but I've seen it.
One of the school I taught at had one. It wasn't used much, as generally when one might have used it, the thing that one did in fact use was just a plain old white board.
yeah, synchronous tutoring oftentimes uses whiteboard technology. there is some definite potential there. perhaps as much as you suggest as there is with a plain old white board. but oh how exciting those colored markers are!
Ahh, the old problem of using technology for technology's sake. We are a very technology rich society, but sometimes a pencil and paper is a more effective tool. On the flip side, I have to say I have seen interactive whiteboards used and demonstrated and they do look pretty cool to play with, but if most of your work is one-on-one then a whiteboard probably is not the most effective tool.
When I teach Online Searching one of the classrooms I use has a smartboard. Unfortunately it is not synchronized properly and drives me crazy by jumping around from one slide to another or doing things that I never commanded. I gave a talk last year for Indiana's institutional libraries (prisons, hospitals, etc.) on using podcasting to promote literacy. Maybe you could explore that. Let students tape themselves and then transcribe it.
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