Comments on: SMART Table in my Classroom – No Learning Curve, Multi Touch Group Dynamics, Content is King!

By: Roger Lang

Roger Lang — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:21:27 +0000

Hi Tom

Impressive videos – have you tried video jigsaws on the smart boards? I’ve put one online (draft version) at http://www.cleo.net.uk/resource/j

Roger

By: Mrkp

Mrkp — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:31:12 +0000

I think your comments about the group dynamics are very interesting. It seems to me that although there are limitations with the activities at present there is a real opportuntity to begin the process of children reflecting on how they worked together! This after all is one of the most important and difficult skills to teach in school. I wonder if filming them and watching their interactions would help further the children’s own emotional and learning intelligence?

By: Kevin Mc Laughlin

Kevin Mc Laughlin — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:42:18 +0000

[riffly_video]8802F69E452911DEBD1B56AE9338EE5B[/riffly_video]

By: Tarmo Toikkanen

Tarmo Toikkanen — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:59:42 +0000

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Tom. Glad to see that you’re staying critical about the new toys, as well as willing to experiment with them to see what they could accomplish. I look forward to your upcoming reports on using this device to do something that really could not be conveniently done without it, which also has a pedagogically meaningful role in the learning environment you’re building.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:59:12 +0000

I think that there is huge potential in networking devices and then getting groups to work together towards a common goal. This is very much what Durham university have been exploring, not just one device in isolation but a whole environment of multi touch/user.

As a software developer explained to me recently unless they have first hand experience of using a table, or have an alternative method to replicate multi touch behaviour away from a table, then it is difficult to create content making the most of the features.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:54:56 +0000

Hi Tarmo,
thanks for your comment – there is huge limitations on what can actually be created at the moment as a go through the motions of using the SMART Table Toolkit. There is little to do with gestures or a suite of movements for certain instructional or group led actions. The activities do provide the children with immediate feedback on their choices, whether through a label snapping into place or if complete then a simple congratulations being flagged up.

The key is that they are working on one device simultaneously – but you are right to point out the “what would be the point?” question. The true power of the device is apparent when manipulating video and images in the Media application.

http://www.vimeo.com/4374988

The children could not do this in any other way, but that question still rings in my ears when I think about the effectiveness of the device. If there is not true depth to what is being done, then the novelty of that style of learning will also wane.

Other then the Media application I am still looking for the truly transformed learning experience and not just the replacement learning activity. Early days though.

By: Tarmo Toikkanen

Tarmo Toikkanen — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:57:41 +0000

This may be a silly question, but what exactly is the benefit of using an expensive SMART table? Of the videos shown, tasks 1 and 2 would actually be easier to do using physical paper cutouts. And students could actually design their own assignments using printed images from the net, then have other groups attempt to solve them, providing a completely different pedagogical experience.

Even task 3 could be recreated using physical objects, eg. different size areas or boxes, and stacking them together. Right now the assignments seem quite contrived and done using the limitations of the new device.

As you said youself, the novelty effect wears off quite quickly. So what would be the point? Do the students actually get to do activities that would be impossible or difficult to do without this device?

By: Leon Cych

Leon Cych — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:47:17 +0000

What is interesting, of course, is the group dynamic – the activities are “cleaner” than in the physical world i.e. the equivalent with bits of card cannot be dropped on the floor etc etc.

But imagine this as a model for interactive working away from the table i.e. the table can be used to scaffold those dynamics when similar co-operative, co-creative or collaborative learning takes place in the physical world with different resources.

Video documentation of this process is fascinating and it’d be interesting to set up similar physical world activities and see if the dynamic can be transposed?

So as the novelty wears off what interventions and facilitation is needed – perhaps a way forward would be software content that encourages co-construction of resources by the pupils themselves around content outlining differentiation of collaborative making but differentiated tasks. Or collaboration at distance with learners on other tables elsewhere in the world?

By: Lynn Marentette

Lynn Marentette — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:11:07 +0000

Do you know of any school counselors or psychologists who are using the SmartTable for small-group activities?

The SIDES project (Shared Interfaces to Develop Effective Social Skills) project used Diamond Touch multi-touch, multi-user table used for social skills activities with middle-school youngsters with Asperger’s Syndrome.

In the past, I led counseling groups for elementary school children who had difficulty with social and cooperative skills. Everything was done around the table. It would be interesting to transform some of my activities to the SmartTable for this purpose.

I found that cooperative learning techniques were good for some of my group activities, especially when I worked with young children who also struggled with literacy. It would be interesting to see how the SMART Table might support this instructional method.

By: tbarrett

tbarrett — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:30:33 +0000

Hi David thanks for your comment – the area of content development is really crucial. Currently the content visible in the videos is made through the SMART Table Toolkit – a content generator for teachers.

Currently the table is very much a standalone device, 3rd party apps negate the multitouch capacity of the table. A wifi card would be ideal for it to be networked.

I have installed Google Earth and run the internet on ours and if I have some time I will explore your suggestions but the essential multi-touch has gone remember. There is still much to explore with 3rd party apps and what they might be like on the SMART Table.