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New technology in the classroom The development of new technology has come along way very quickly. It is only really in the last ten years that this technology has started to become more widely used and affordable for Schools and Colleges. Many teachers are still getting to grips with the frequent changes in word-processing and publishing software that have been used to plan, develop and present lessons for learners. In this report I will focus on smart-board technology and the functions used in conjunction with computer software that TEFL tutors and EFL learners could benefit from during classroom-based lessons. I will also weigh up the advantages and disadvantages over a regular white-board or chalkboard. I will also highlight some of the ways EFL Teachers can best use smart-board technology with their learners. 1. Overview of Equipment needed to get the most out of smart-board technology. There are a few other components that the smart-board user will be confronted with. Aside from the smart-board itself there will be a projector. This is usually connected via a HDMI or VGA lead mounted onto the wall next to the smart-board, but if the business or school has a wireless network it is possible to connect your computer to the projector remotely. Most smart-boards have speakers mounted either side of the board and an RCA connection will be provided at the same point where your computer is connected. The smart-board itself will come with 4 different colored pens and an eraser. The smart-board is connected to the computer via USB. As I have mentioned, you will need a computer nearby or a laptop. Smart-boards are compatible with the majority of operating systems and platforms (OSX, XP, MAC, WINDOWS, LINUX) and still work pretty well with low spec PC's and Laptops. If you are lucky enough to teach somewhere that has this technology, they should have a multiple site license for the software and it shouldn't be difficult to install this on your own laptop. 2. User interface, software, games and additional uses. The user interface is very intuitive, like a standard white-board the smart-board is easy to write on with the provided pens, but it?s just as easy to write with your finger. All of the functions on your computer can be controlled with the smart-board acting as the mouse. It is also possible to call up a QWERTY keyboard if you want to type instead. Once the smart-board is connected to the computer, and the projector is up and running, you can load up the software. The main educational package that comes with the smart-board is called Smart notebook. This software enables you to interact with the computer using the board and focus on the notebook software itself. The basic layout is nice and simple and similar to more familiar word processing packages. To the right of the screen there is a menu bar that contains tabs for templates, pictures, animations and audio clips for the majority of scenarios you might encounter. It will include games like hangman and word-search, crossword and puzzle templates that you can tailor for your own needs. These games use flash technology or simple gif transitions that can be setup to reveal and hide information or link to other information. Items from the menu can be easily dragged across onto a blank document. With the availability of the projector and speakers it is also possible to show films and video clips. You can also use your computer to playback any drilling exercises you might have, music and audio books can be played too. If you?re prepared you can pre-set smart-notebook work templates to have hyperlinks to various examples, tests and games from the Internet or the school or college's network. 3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Smart-board Technology. Advantages The main advantage is that the majority of resources are there for you in one setup. Teachers and learners can engage with the material/software directly. The board allows multiple users at any one time. Games and activities can be set-up using software other than smart software and imported/exported easily. Work generated by the learners using the board can be saved and modified or logged very quickly and easily. It's possible to get through a lot of information very quickly and as long as it is used in the right way and not totally relied on, board time can be much faster; taking away teacher writing time so no learners get distracted or become bored. Disadvantages Not being able to connect equipment because of missing leads. Not knowing how to use the equipment/software due to lack of training or software savvy technical staff. It's expensive technology. If one component is broken or missing then it's like having no resource at all, so you can't rely on it like you can a trusty chalkboard. Too much light in the room will make it hard for learners to see what is on the board. If the board gets bumped you might have to re-calibrate it, which takes up a bit of time 4. Uses for EFL lessons. The board is big so words and sentences can be enlarged and zoomed into when needed. Books, articles, songs and stories can be seen and read/sang by the whole class. Simple interactive animations and pictures can be used to help learners feel like they are discovering the language themselves. Learners can use the colored pens to make a circle, point out or underline a spelling mistake or a grammatical mistake. All the work produced on the board by the learners can be saved and used again and modified for a re-cap lesson. Work can be collated so that tests can be developed for the specific individual needs of the learners much faster. Because all the information can be generated in one place, board and general organization is easier. If you have a list of words and you want to do a few more things before you go back to it, it's possible to hide it until later instead of having to re-write it or end up writing things too small to squeeze them in; on a regular board. Audio examples can be linked to words by clicking on them and these can be produced by the teacher or learners in class, or sampled from a cassette or CD. There is a lot of information written in english on the Internet, so there is an ever-increasing resource for EFL teachers to use whenever they need to provide good examples for learners when not prepared for a certain question. Conclusion Because the generation of learners we have now are growing up with technology and keeping up with the advancements, I think they need more hands-on interactive stimulation. Obviously it's important to remember that this new technology isn't necessarily going to help EFL learners for all aspects of their training. But because the smart-board can help the teacher and the learners interact with all the resources, it can become invaluable in the classroom if you?re lucky enough to have one at you disposal.
