IWBs vs Powerpoint in a secondary school

[rexboggs5]

I have been having some discussions with colleagues recently about the advantages of ACTIVStudio/ACTIVBoard vs a data projector with Powerpoint projected onto a normal whiteboard to teach maths and science in a secondary school. And I will be giving a talk at the Maths Association of Victoria conference in early December on my experiences using my ACTIVBoard in a Maths classroom and I need to address this point as well. This is a big issue in Queensland state high schools, because including an IWB adds between AUS$2000 and AUS$3000 to the cost of bringing digital technology into each classroom.

I will start the discussion with what I think are some of the advantages, but would love some feedback from others who have more experience in this area.

Firstly, it is axiomatic that an IWB is better than ppt alone, because ppt can be included in any flipchart. And the reverse is not true. So the question isn't which is better, the question is if an IWB is that much better to justify the additional AUS$2000-3000 per classroom.

Firstly, I don't know of a "killer app" for IWBs that settles the debate conclusively; rather I see the advantage as being composed of many features that in total present a strong case for IWBs.

1. The tools. Being able to drag the ruler, compass, protractor and calculator onto the page is very valuable at times (though a colleague says that she prefers to use the tools that the kids are using, so her preference if she is teaching coastal navigation for example is to do it on the OHP with transparencies. I use the camera almost every day to bring images etc onto my flipchart pages (but I imagine there is a similar tool that could be used with ppt). The countdown clock is wonderful, as is at times the magnifying glass. I don't know if ppt has similar tools.

2. Resource library. I have only just started using this - should have done it months ago! Not so much for the stored resources, but as a quick way for me to save and access pages that I re-use in other flipcharts. Obviously ppts can be saved and opened, but I am not sure if it is as quick as using the resource library.

3. Snap to grid. I have developed a number of flipchart pages that make effective use of this tool. As far as I know, ppt doesn't have a similar tool (true?)

4. But maybe the biggest difference is the 'feel' of a lesson taught with an IWB compared to ppt. While later versions of ppt include more interactive tools, it is still presentation software. The tools, files, software and web pages that I want to incorporate into my lesson are at my fingertips in ACTIVStudio. Maybe they can be accessed in ppt as well, but not in such an easy and intuitive manner.

That's enough for now, otherwise this email will become too long I assume that Queensland is not the only place that is having this debate, so I would like to hear from others on this important topic.

Cheers

Rex

[Margaret Allen]

http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/wtrs_whiteboards.pdf

http://becta.org.uk/corporate/publications/documents/TIEW_Feb2006.pdf

Do they help to pad out some of your obviously already well thought through arguments based on hands on experience....+wave+

[LisaD]

One of my favorite advantages of Activstudio vs Powerpoint in my opinion is the ability to ask a question during the lesson using the Activotes. Sometimes, if an individual is working on a problem, you could always ask the group to vote in agreement or disagreement. But not everyone has Activotes...

Also, with Powerpoint, teachers tend to develop "presentations" of materials versus "activities" that the students actually work with dragging, drawing, using the compass, protractor, ruler, calculator. While the latest version of Powerpoint does have some annotation tools, the drawing tool is not enough. The ability to do snap to grid is great. Some teacher I work with prefer the TI onscreen graphing calculator vs the built in Activstudio ones, so I suggest they add the shortcut to it on their Activstudio toolbar.

My two cents.

Lisa

[Dug]

Powerpoint does it to them.
ACTIV - everyone can 'do'.

I know which way I'd prefer to learn.

They are called 'INTERACTIVE' white boards. For me this means that learners interact.

[john_donut]

I would go with the IWB every time but if you have the projector you don't have to only use PowerPoint right?

can't you buy an activSlate and use ActivStudio anyway? I don't have a slate myself so don't know but does the slate work on a bluetooth to the pc or does it respond to the board?

[Jon' Allen]

I often find that dedicated PowerPoint users can get a bit upset if feel that they are being railroaded into abandoning past ppt work in favour of ACTIVstudio when IWBs appear in school.
However they can either:
Use the import function in ACTIVstudio to convert their ppt presentations into ACTIVstudio flipchart format
or
Carry on using Powerpoint to deliver the presentation but have ACTIVstudio running on top in Desktop flipchart mode which allows them to annotate/interact with their slide and also preserve a snapshot record of their annotated slides. Suddenly Powerpoint becomes much more than a linear presentation tool.

[Peter_Kent]

Hi Dug,

You have actually raise two issues here: 1) Powerpoint vs AS2; and 2) an IWB vs solely a projector.

To answer the first issue I would suggest that you spend a week where you convert your AS2 files to powerpoint and then try and use them in your class. I suspect that you will find that powerpoint is so limiting in what you can do in a dynamic and interactive teaching environment that you would give up this experiment after a day and be armed with heaps of evidence and examples of the advantages of AS2.

The second issue is a very common question. I have attached what I believe is a comprehensive answer to how and why an IWB is worth the extra cost over a projector by itself.

Cheers

Peter

[Peter_Kent]

Sorry Rex,


That HI Dug should have been a Hi Rex.

Peter

[SamPrince]

I recommend you take a look at GeoGebra for teaching maths (and possibly some aspects of science) on an IWB.

http://www.geogebra.at/cms/

It's one example of software which makes the IWB much more usable as a whiteboard replacement than a laptop which you hunch over and make fiddly changes to (while the kids lose interest).

[Peter Lambert]

You've hit the nail on the head there Sam, its the difference between a teacher being seated behind a laptop/computer screen opposed to one up at the board involving the kids in the decision making about those fiddly changes.

[rexboggs5]

Thanks to all who replied to this thread - the discussion has been very informative. I moved from an overhead projector to an ACTIVBoard without passing through the computer/projector/powerpoint phase so I can't draw on personal experience when asked questions about PowerPoint vs IWB. So this discussion has been especially valuable for me.

Cheers

Rex

[jsm98r]

I cannot agree more. I just got a activboard, but am finding it very hard to move away from powerpoint. All I hear is that powerpoint is not 'interactive" but IWBs are. An experienced powerpoint user can create a VERY interactive presentation. There are features that cannot be done with activestudio (that I know of). Ex: making objects appear, move, and then disappear;

The way I see it, sense you have the pointer option that comes with powerpiont, which allows you or a student to draw on the powerpoint, then it is a leap to say IWB kills powerpoint. BUT, I do like the activotes--they are cool.
If I am missing anything like features I don't know about, then let me know. For example, in Powerpoint, I can have a circle drawn, and when I am ready for the dots to fly into the cirlce, all I do is click. How do they appear and move in activstudio?

just some thoughts.



I often find that dedicated PowerPoint users can get a bit upset if feel that they are being railroaded into abandoning past ppt work in favour of ACTIVstudio when IWBs appear in school.
However they can either:
Use the import function in ACTIVstudio to convert their ppt presentations into ACTIVstudio flipchart format
or
Carry on using Powerpoint to deliver the presentation but have ACTIVstudio running on top in Desktop flipchart mode which allows them to annotate/interact with their slide and also preserve a snapshot record of their annotated slides. Suddenly Powerpoint becomes much more than a linear presentation tool.

[LisaD]

My concept of "interaction" is students interacting with the content such as "dragging things" around. For example, say I have a venn diagram pre-labeled... Students can drag words or pictures into the various sections of the venn diagram. Templates exist for this in Activstudio which also include "voting."

I also love all of the Powertools in Activstudio like the protractor, compass, ruler and calculator that allow students to work out ideas on the flipchart pages.

Using the fill bucket to have students fill certain words in a sentence or paragraph!

Voting is another area that Activstudio shines (as you mentioned!)

Just a few ideas of why I prefer Activstudio over Powerpoint.

Lisa

[kguidry]

I suggest asking the students which they prefer. They're the ones that really matter in the end anyway. They will certainly give you the answers you are seeking. I don't know one student who would prefer Powerpoint over an IWB!

[Laura OHalloran]

This post from the TES Staffroom caught my attention this morning: (Not sure the link will work but will try!)

www.tes.co.uk/section/staffroom/thread.aspx?story_id=2381384&path=/Opinion/&threadPage=1


Perhaps someone can let me know if the link does/doesn't work so that I might paraphrase if necessary!

Laura +wave+

[Daniel Bunker]

Yes the link works.

Led me to a few interesting places as well - Thanks!

http://www.lowmorale.co.uk/images/lm_9_9_1.swf

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1

Dan

[roswalker]

This was a question that was raised when I was doing a research project about 4 years ago and the most compelling answer that I found was the use of 'modelling'. When a teacher is using a PowerPoint and a dataprojector, they are rarely near the board and definitely can't touch and manipulate items. In some cases, this splits the pupils' attention - do they look at the projected image or do they look at the teacher (who may be a few foot away from the image).

Add to this the modelling that can be done at the board, e.g. taking a protractor and showing exactly how to line it up and how to measure an angle. This really does start to make a difference. I have seen many examples in maths with measuring and drawing graphs where the teacher's (or pupils) presence at the board really does SHOW how the thing works. Last week I was in a lesson where graphs were being shown and the teacher brought up a graph asking if it was a good way to represent information. Immediately a pupil put her hand up and said "Can I come and show you why it is complete rubbish?" - she came to the board, took a pen and annotated over the graph, indeed proving that it was total rubbish! But, could she have done that with a PowerPoint? No, because she would not have been able to annotate directly over it at the board itself. (Yes, I know PPT now has a marker but if you are using it from a computer, it does not have the same impact as seeing it happen in front of you and being able to connect the user and the action).

For me, that is the most powerful argument: the 'Triangle' between the board, the person working at the board and those 'watching' - being able to make the connection and see it happening is very powerful.

Hope that makes sense!

Ros

[LisaD]

I agree with your triangle concept.

Sometimes I get asked the question about "recording" flipcharts so that they can be replayed in the next class.

My "bad self" wants to say "Why? So you can press play and go sit down?"

But my "good self" tries to explain that you'll then miss out on the most important piece of this triangle, the student interaction with the content. While recording has its merits, it's not the lesson itself.

Lisa