That good ole fashioned whiteboard

Watching someone expertly use analogue tools is refreshing. Reassuring, in fact. Reassuring because it confirms that excellence can be achieved without having access to expensive resources. Reassuring knowing that if the power goes down or you spill Diet Coke on your computer, the lesson can still proceed.

I recently had the pleasure of observing a foreign languages lesson. Not once did the teacher project something onto the interactive whiteboard. I wasn’t even sure if her computer was on! She used the analogue whiteboard to do the following:

  • Modelling
  • Scaffold students’ thinking
  • Sharing learning outcomes
  • Reflect upon and evaluating success criteria

The lesson was exemplary. It was beautiful. If I you really want me to stick a judgement on it, it was ‘Outstanding’.