Innovation Profile 142

The third corner

A teacher and a learner interacting, interact only with each other. If there is a third interactive element available there are many more possibilities. The teacher can use the interactive tool to present, to scaffold work, to respond to learners' inputs, to challenge - to do many of the things that the teacher might do to promote learning.

While this interactive tool undertakes an element of the teacher's role, the teacher is freed to take on a different role. A profound change in how teachers teach and learners learn can be the result.

The 'interactive tool' is the combination of computer, display and interface. This is particularly powerful in changing teaching/learning processes when the display and interface is an interactive whiteboard. This is because of the ease of use of the interface and the visibility of the display to groups.

The introduction of blackboards into schools must have caused many changes in methodology for teaching. The introduction of interactive whiteboards now calls for even greater changes, as they are so much more capable and interactive than a blackboard.

At http://www.virtuallearning.org.uk/iwb there is a collection of papers, case studies and resources exploring changes in teaching methodology. This resource has been jointly funded by Promethean (http://www.prometheanworld.com) and Mirandanet (http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk).

Because it is changes in interaction that must be understood, it is only possible to explore the new opportunities in classrooms where new interactions actually happen. No matter how much one may know about teachers, learners, and the capabilities of interactive whiteboards, it is not possible to predict how teacher/learner interactions will change when the interactive whiteboard is introduced.

This means that the only people who can create and refine the new methodologies for teaching and learning, are practising teachers working with today's children in normal schools/colleges.

We therefore have to find ways to draw from practising teachers their experiences and insights, and ways to present and formalise these so that others can benefit from them.

The Promethean Profile on our web site will give you a list of other Innovation Profiles connected with the company.

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If you know of examples of innovative use of ICT-for-learning that others would be interested in, please email innovations@eep-edu.org

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