Howard Payne University professors Dr. Michael Rosato, dean of the School of Education, and Dr. Daresa Voss, professor of education, were recent presenters at the Texas Education Agency Conference on “21st Century Skills for Digital Learners: Sharing What Works in Teacher Preparation.” The conference was held in February at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Austin, Texas.
Their lecture was entitled “Interactive Whiteboards: Theory and Practice in a Small Teacher Preparation Program.”
HPU recently acquired two interactive 87” Promethean whiteboards, thanks to the generosity of Dr. Leonard Underwood and Mr. David Grooms. The Promethean boards use touch technology to provide a 360-degree educational experience including sound, touch and visual presentations. Drs. Rosato and Voss discussed the use of these boards within the classroom at HPU and the benefits they can provide.
Rosato shared that having technology like the Promethean board available for instruction at HPU helps educate university students who want to become teachers.
“Tools like this help HPU’s School of Education to equip our future teachers,” he said. “It all fits in the macro of producing all students at the highest level by setting high standards and supporting students to reach that level.”
During the presentation, Rosato focused on the theory behind the utilization of these whiteboards including benefits in the areas of teacher attrition, student engagement and brain research.
“When this type of board is used by teachers with proper training, it engages students in the learning process,” said Rosato.
He cited studies regarding brain research in children. According to these studies, children learn better when they are physically active. Aerobic activity creates more brain cells, which primes them for learning and keeps the brain attuned to what is taking place. Using interactive whiteboards within the classroom supports this theory because it keeps the children interested, learning and participating. Moreover, research by Robert Marzano on the effectiveness of the use of interactive whiteboards indicates that their use by properly trained teachers results in significant increases in student engagement in the learning process.
Dr. Rosato asserts that children today are digital natives, having always had some form of technology in their lives. Integrating this technology in the classroom engages the students and makes their learning more interactive.
Dr. Voss discussed the practical application of the Promethean board. The lesson she prepared demonstrated a timer, random counter, rubber stamp and many other interactive tools. When she shared a lesson on the interactive whiteboard in her class at HPU, she said her students were very excited and even stayed after class to learn more.
According to Drs. Rosato and Voss, it is important to share this type of technology with their education students in order to prepare them for their future careers.
“Technology is here to stay,” said Dr. Rosato. “Therefore, we need to strive to stay current with it in order to serve our students well as they become part of a community of scholars.
