No one ever said interactive whiteboards were magical, but combining these high-tech devices with the universal appeal of video games may just convert the non-believers among students and educators across Australia. Australian IT reports that Charles Darwin University tested a new software called Abracadabra in a small sampling of Australian primary schools and got positive results. Abracadabra uses educational games, music and visual bells and whistles to teach students reading skills, computer skills, vocabulary and more. The software works with an interactive whiteboard and encourages kids to learn by playing. This new edutainment package apparently made a positive impression with its test subjects and researchers will likely conduct tests with larger sample sizes to refine it before it hits the open market.
The fact that Abracadabra uses an interactive whiteboard hints at the potential for educators to reach students in a new and appealing way. First off, the stats tell us that a good portion of Generation Y would love nothing more than to plop down in front of a big screen TV and play XBOX or Wii. An interactive whiteboard can replicate that big screen experience to a certain extent, and if you can integrate engaging computer software into your curriculum, it encourages an interactive, hands-on learning experience that students can’t get from passively staring at a textbook. In addition, with its PC and Internet connectivity, an interactive whiteboard can connect students from different classrooms in different states and countries for unique multi-lingual and multi-cultural exchanges that no other available technology can really replicate.
In any case, the development of software like Abracadabra bears watching. And if the widespread misgivings about the American educational system have any merit, the integration of advanced educational technology could ultimately hold the key to closing a growing educational gap.
(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net) Posted by Taeho Lim
