I use an interactive whiteboard for my classes. The majority of the time, this is a bit frustrating. They turn off at random. The software we use to write on the board is buggy. At times, the videos and audio I want to play just won’t do it.
But occasionally, the board becomes the tool it is supposed to be. Two hours of work transforms my class into abstract modern art.
The classes are of various levels. I don’t know if my best artwork comes from the high-level classes or the lowest level ones. The hight level classes are amalgamations of words that seem random, but are all held together by a common thread. Like this class, about Artificial Intelligence.
The class zooms in and out like a Prezi, but with the board and my messy handwriting.
I often have random words on the board, because someone has asked me to spell it.
Some low-level classes are clean and don’t require much in the way of spelling or scribbling ‘ICMBs’ on the corner of a discussion.
I have a rule in my elementary class. Three stars = one sticker. Six stars = two stickers. Fifteen stars = five stickers. And the one with the most stickers at the end of two months is the winner of a prize. Stars are awarded for answering questions, finishing work, getting the most points of a group quiz, or following the class rules during a test. It works pretty well!
Some classes get messy for this, when the students are especially keen.
And of course, there is the occasional cameo appearance for Jack Sparrow during a pronunciation exercise.
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