I was grateful for the opportunity last week to attend a two-hour training on software for use with the interactive whiteboard. My master teacher, Jean, took me, and while the district can’t install the software on the laptop they gave me (the laptop is too old), it will be installed on Jean’s, and I’ll be able to use it from there. I took some time to practice with the software (called Easiteach) on the district IT person’s laptop, linked directly to the whiteboard in the training room. It took me a bit to get the hang of using the pen and the various icons to activate the functions, but the ability to call up interactive multiplication and fraction games, for instance, or to create a flip chart associated with a specific lesson, will be valuable not only in spring quarter but in my future classroom. Using just the whiteboard (no software attached) requires a separate training, but I asked, and the district’s IT person was kind enough to schedule the first of what may be several sessions with me after school in March.
Now, the brand of whiteboard my district has (Enovision) may be different from that of other districts, and not every district may be using the Easiteach software. But considering that most districts have some version of it, gaining familiarity is critical. My master teacher said she doesn’t use it often enough, and so isn’t as agile with it as she could be, and I’m sure she’s not the only teacher who feels that way. All the more reason, then, that we, as beginning teachers, learn how to use it. This can help us both land jobs and be more effective once we do.
I wish the entire cohort had the opportunity to spend time learning how to use a whiteboard this quarter. That is the technology in our classrooms right now. And not everyone will have the opportunity to learn, especially if his or her master teacher doesn’t use it, or if there is no access to training in his or her placement. I feel fortunate to get what training I will receive, and if I hadn’t expressed interest to my master teacher and to the district, I might not have received it at all.
Kim, you are right on the money that this is the technology that is CURRENTLY IN THE SCHOOLS we will be applying to! You are wise and lucky to have received training on how to effectively use it before you begin your full-time student teaching. I am looking into a training as well through our tech specialist in our building.
ReplyDeleteYou may be interested in reading my post about our experiences with technology this quarter. Just my humble thinking.
Good luck as you learn more ways to make the IWB an integral part of your teaching in the spring.
~Shelley
Exactly how interns have gotten white board training for the past 4 years, and I can't think of a single instance of someone not being able to get their training in the district... exactly as it should be since the different systems (there are at least three) are very different from one another.
ReplyDeleteGreat that the system we rely on worked so well for you!