Chris Betcher

I've just been watching a video online of someone doing an IWB demonstration at the recent ISTE event in Denver, and I have to say, I'm a little speechless. IWBs are certainly a controversial technology and cop a lot of flak for being a waste of money in classrooms, and although I hate to sound like an apologist, I too often find myself defending them.  I defend them because I believe that in the hands of a good teacher they can be valuable tools, and I get a bit tired of hearing the technology being attacked when it seems to me that all technologies are fairly inert until someone actually does something useful (or not) with them.  As a concept, IWBs sound like a good idea to me... here's a tool that can support all manner of digital resources and is connected to the wider world via the web, but still has that human element that brings the class members together to discuss ideas around a  shared, large-screen environment, sharing talking, making eye contact.  That al...

Here's a little piece of news about the book that I wrote with Mal Lee last year, The Interactive Whiteboard Revolution: teaching with IWBs .  We've just been informed by the publishers, ACER Press, that the original print run is now completely sold out and they are going into a second print run. Apparently there are even back orders, and the book has been one of the best selling books in their catalog this year. Who'da thunk it? It's true that Interactive Whiteboards can be a controversial topic. There are plenty of people who see them as a useful technology for teaching and learning, but there are also plenty of others that don't (and are quite vocal about it!) One of the things I think we tried really hard to do in the book was to consider this controversy and take a sensible and level-headed approach to what IWBs do and don't do well.  I certainly don't think I wrote it as an IWB fan-boy and I hope we managed to present a reasoned, common-sense, brand-ag...

At the recent ULearn Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, I was asked (along with many other educators, I hasten to add!) to be part of the EdTalks series. Naturally, I was thrilled to have been asked and readily agreed, although I must admit that in the flurry of preparation for ULearn I really didn't think about it very much until I got to Christchurch. Sitting in the foyer of the Chistchurch Conference Centre, quite by accident, I bumped into Matt Tippen, one of the brains behind EdTalks, who said "Oh, so you're Chris Betcher. Are you ready to record your talk?" I wasn't, but I did it anyway, and essentially just made it up as I went along. EdTalks is a project of CORE Education , a leading New Zealand educational consulting and training organisation, and is described on their website as "a growing collection of videos featuring New Zealand and International educators talking about learning. EDtalks is CORE's contribution to your professional le...

The following post was originally written as a reponse to a thread about interactive whiteboards on the www.iwbrevolution.com Ning.  One of the thread participants there made a statement about needing to see IWBs used in new ways. I'm interested (read desperate) to see the revolutionary value adding aspects. I have an IWB, I love using my IWB, but I need to grasp the ideas and strategies that move people to describe it as a 'revolution' in learning. Show me an idea that is actually new!!! While I appreciate where he's coming from, I think the question is somewhat flawed. In responded to the post, I found myself "thinking out loud" about the value propsition of interactive whiteboards.  For what it may be worth, here's the post. As always, your thoughts and feedback are welcome in the comments... --- I used to own a mobile phone, an iPod, a digital camera, a video camera, a GPS, and a voicerecorder, and I often carried many of them with me at any given mom...

I'm in Auckland at the moment for the first New Zealand National IWB Conference .  As some of you may know, I co-authored a book a while back with Mal Lee that was all about IWBs and interactive technology in general, and I learned a fair bit about whiteboards and their various uses in the process of writing that book. I've presented at the last three Australian IWB conferences, another in Napier earlier this year, and now this one in Auckland.  Plus, since the book came out I get asked quite a lot to run IWB workshops for schools, where I get to I talk to lots of teachers about the things they do with their IWBs.  (Actually I've always talked to lots of teachers about their IWB use, but I think I ask much better questions these days).  All of this has given me - I think - a reasonable perspective on the current state of IWB use, so I just thought I'd blog a couple of reflections about it. When I first saw an interactive whiteboard, I really wasn't very impressed w...

There is a cliche that ones hears a lot in education about the need for teachers to not be a "sage on the stage", but rather a "guide on the side". The main idea behind these two cute terms is to denounce the role of a teacher as being a "sage"; the font of all knowledge in a classroom, someone who stands in front of the empty-headed students and tells them everything they need to know. We decry this idea of a sage, and quite rightly too. In a post-Google world, the notion that anybody - including a teacher - could still be the source of all information and wisdom is pretty ridiculous. Likewise, the other half of this expression implies that the more proper role of a teacher is that of being a "guide" for students. Someone who goes along on the journey with students as a partner in learning. As my good friend Tony Butler would say, it's about creating a "big brother, little brother" relationship with students rather than a ...

You may have noticed that it's been a bit quiet here on the blog lately. I've not been writing here as much as usual and I've really missed it! There have been a couple of reasons for this little sabbatical, but the most significant one was the book project I've been working on with Mal Lee. For almost a year now (OMG, has it really been that long?!) Mal and I have been writing a book together about the use of interactive whiteboards for education. It's been a huge project, partly because it's been a lot to write - nearly 60,000 words - but mostly because it's been an absolute journey of learning for me as we've written it. I'm pleased to say that the finished manuscript finally went to the publishers this week! In case you're interested, here's a little bit of background into the book... Mal Lee is an ex school principal and he provided a lot of the insights around the management, funding and leadership aspects of implementing IWBs effec...

I never realised I was such an auditory learner until I became a podcast junkie. Now I listen to oodles of podcasts on all sorts of topics. My drive to work is a little longer at the new school this year and I'm rather pleased about that since I get to listen to more podcasts! Ever since starting my own podcast, The Virtual Staffroom , over a year ago I've enjoyed the opportunity to chat with other educators about school, learning and whatever else came up. Initially, the motivation for making the podcast was just to figure out how it was done, and I've been lucky to have had so many wonderful teachers offering to join me online for a Skype chat, which then ends up as a podcast. This week, in somewhat of a role reversal for me, I was invited to be on the interviewee's side of the mic for a change. I had the great pleasure of being a guest on the Ed Tech Crew Podcast this week, where Darrell and Tony had a chat to me about a bunch of things, but mainly interactive wh...

I don't normally make requests like this but if you are reading this and you teach using any sort of Interactive Whiteboard , I have a small favour to ask... I am currently in the middle of writing a book about the use of IWBs in schools. I'm actually co-authoring it with Mal Lee, an ex-principal and one of the most knowledgeable guys around when it comes to interactive whiteboard research. Mal and I are trying to finish the book over the next few weeks (we have an actual book contract with the Australian Council for Educational Research... with a real deadline and everything!) It aims to be an overview guide looking at the appropriate pedagogy and logistical considerations to think about when you become an IWB user. We are trying to keep the book as brand-agnostic as possible, even though we are aware that the majority of readers will be on either a SmartBoard or an Activboard. The real focus is on pedagogy, logistics and other practical classroom considerations. Here...

I'm sitting on a Virgin Blue 737-800 as I write this, flying home to Sydney after an excellent weekend at the 4th Australian Interactive Whiteboard Conference hosted by IWBnet and Emmanuel College on the Gold Coast. As I mentioned in previous posts it was a thoroughly enjoyable conference. It had "buzz"... a great general ambience and perfect location. I was fortunate to have been asked to present a few sessions at the conference too, since I always enjoy the opportunity to share ideas with other teachers as I find I learn a great deal from the experience myself. The feedback was also fairly positive, so that's a nice thing. Whether is was just because I got to hang out with great teachers, catch up with old friends, stay in a nice resort, or do canapes and cocktails from the observation deck at Q1 on Friday night, I thought it was a top conference. If you're interested in hearing a bit about what went on there you might like to keep an ear on The Virtual...

 I'm currently on the Gold Coast at the 4th Interactive Whiteboard Conference.  It's a big event with  around 450 delegates, and about 120 different presentation sessions!   I had the pleasure this morning of presenting two of those sessions, and have spent most of the  rest of the day flitting around, checking out what else is on offer, looking at new products and generally enjoying the beautiful weather here on the Gold Coast.  Right now, I'm sitting here in a Web 2.0 workshop run by John Pearce.  John is teaching teachers how to set up their own blogs and wikis, so I figured this would be a good moment to add a quick blog entry myself.  There are a few photos in the Flickr sidebar, and I'll add more over the weekend.