Interactive White Board Use and Its impact on Student Achievement in Dissertation

Interactive White Board Use and Its impact on Student Achievement in Middle School Mathematics - Dissertation Example Some of the advantages of this learning are that it creates a way for students to have positive social learning, has an impact on children’s behavior, and they are able â€Å"to perform miracles† (Northcote et al., 2010, p. 496). IWBs have been accepted for use in a variety of settings and in particular the elementary school. This literature review will discuss the implications of its use around various areas including mathematics and other subjects. Overview of Interactive Whiteboards The interactive whiteboard is a piece of hardware that looks like the regular whiteboards. The difference is that they can be connected to a computer and to a projector so that the teacher can have a more powerful tool to use in the classroom. The whiteboard is unique because the teacher can point to objects on the whiteboard(or use a special pen) instead of using a mouse to control what she is teaching (Pearson Longman, 2011). Anything that is on the computer can also be accessed and dis played on the whiteboard. Software comes with the IWB that can be used to interact with images and text, which means it can be rearranged or the size and color can be changed. There is a volume of literature on the benefits of using these IWBs in the classroom. ... In addition, the IWB also provides a way for teachers to use a flexible process of teaching that can reach all learning styles, provides additional teaching time because using the computer is faster than other methods of teaching, they provide focus for the children and they encourage student participation in the classroom (Koenraad, 2008). According to Hall and Higgins (2005) IWBs represent â€Å"a conglomeration of all previous educational technologies, replacing traditional chalk or whiteboards, televisions, videos, overhead projectors, and personal computers† (p. ) Hall and Higgins also state that IWBs can be sued in the classroom to display video clips, create flip charts, provide handwriting practice and each process can be edited. Beeland (2002) states that â€Å"the touch sensitive board allows users to interact directly with applications without having to be physically at the computer which is projecting the image onto the board† (p. ). These researchers state the advantages of using IWBs and how important they are to the classroom. Levels and States of IWB Use: Pedagogical Issues Technology continues to be a challenge for some teachers because and there is no exception to this in the use if IWBs. Sherry and Gibson (2002) suggest that there are several stages to technology development in a school: Infusion, integration and transformation. In the infusion stage, everyone is excited about these tools and what they can bring to the classroom. The integration stage will gain momentum when teachers actually begin to use the IWB as a learning tool and realize that it is not an isolated piece of software, but that it can be used with the computer and a projector to make their work easier. The

Refute paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Refute paper - Article Example It bears emphasis that the title of the piece as well as the timing in which it has come to light is of key importance to the understanding and analysis of the motives behind it. For those that are unfamiliar, Michelle Malkin is a conservative pundit that represents the extreme far right of the Republican Party. As an Asian American woman, she seeks to give a distinct ethnic flavor to a party that has previously been viewed as male, pale, and Yale. As a partisan critic, Malkin makes her money on being a polemic. Regardless of the virtue of the Democratic stance on a particular issue or the honest nature in which the current president makes a decision, Malkin’s readership have come to expect negativity on such topics as this is what helps her to pay the bills and provides such a rabid fan base as she enjoys among extreme elements of the conservative right in the United States. With this in mind, Malkin’s article begins with a snarky headline and image that depicts Presid ent Obama in the attire of the grim reaper. Furthermore, the headline makes a strong allusion to the flap that had earlier enraptured extreme elements of the conservative party regarding Obama’s religious nature. The article is entitled â€Å"Obama’s Layoff Bomb†. ... e will be an imminent layoff bubble which will burst very soon after the election (not surprisingly especially if Barak Obama were to be elected for a second term). Although the article itself expresses the claim of objectivity in the research, it is clear from even a cursory review that no such objectivity is included. Malkin’s rubric centers around the following flawed perceptions of the economy, BLS information, and the strong/innate belief that the Democratic party and liberalism specifically is responsible for nearly all of the ills of current society (Malkin 1). Firstly, with respect to Malkin’s use of BLS data to prove a point, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that the economy of the United States has been and a marked improvement since the second quarter of 2008 in nearly every imaginable financial metric and indicator. This has been proven by increase in new home sales, low inflation rates, the positive affects that QE1,2 have had on economic growth, and t he general decrease in unemployment figures. Although the economy is still decidedly weak, it is shortsighted and narrow-minded to offer up a view that merely because a slight decrease over the past month in the number of job cuts in firms precipitates a coming avalanche of job cuts if/when Barak Obama is re-elected to the office of President of the United States. Furthermore, such an approach does not factor in the cyclical nature of the employment sector within the United States economy. Although figures rise and fall on a host of global, domestic, and regional factors, there remain significant and measurable trends with relation to overall employment and layoff statistics that transcend the presidential election. Although this is no doubt a factor to a certain subset of employers, who wins the