When I first heard about interactive whiteboards, I was thrilled. The amounts to a giant touchscreen at the front of a room with technology and software designed to let the operator interact with screen content by merely touching it with a finger or a pen. I immediately started seeing applications for the technology in a classroom setting, where the teacher can write notes, annotate documents, and manipulate pictures in real time in front of his students and then save the results for later distribution. The only off-putting thing about this technology is the cost: typically between $1000 to $5000 for an entry level Smart Board (one particularly popular brand). Because many schools might balk at this cost, I decided to try and find my own low-cost alternative.
By chance, I stumbled upon the Wiimote project and a piece of software called Smoothboard on one of my favorite tech blogs. The software utilizes the remote from a Nintendo Wii console to track an infrared light source, such as an infrared pen, and then map those movements to a computer screen. The interface of this software is set up with teachers and presenters in mind. It includes on-screen tools for drawing and annotating on the screen, as well as interacting with the computer itself by simulating mouse clicks and movement. When the computer is connected to a projector, the screen and all its annotations can be projected to the front of a classroom and then manipulated in front of an audience. The only requirements for this setup are a computer, a projector, a Wiimote, and an infrared pen of some sort. Since the first two are often included in most classroom setups by default, the teacher must provide only the Wiimote, and the pen, which will typically cost no more than $50-60 together.
To answer the questions of this assignment:
1) In setting up and running this tool, I learned that there are a great number of technical quirks and difficulties that can result from having a system that is too complex. I was able to build a working setup using this software and some inexpensive components, but it took several hours of tweaking to get it working correctly the first time. It also takes some patience and practice to use the system well. Once I figured out the basics of the setup, however, I was rewarded with an incredibly cheap replacement for the typical interactive whiteboards used in schools that worked nearly as well, if not better in some instances. It is possible to benefit from an interactive board without spending thousands of dollars on a commercial solution.
2) I see this tool being most useful in a science classroom as an easy way to demonstrate physical phenomenon and experiments using interactive computer demos. There are a number of good programs and apps online that simulate phenomenon such as wave interference, electrical circuit design, and various ballistic paths that would be enormously useful to display during a lesson. I could use the whiteboard technology to actually manipulate the variables desired on the screen and then run the simulation to show the kids exactly what would happen. They could even come up and interact with the simulations directly to help them form hypotheses and understand what is happening. I would also be able to save all of my board work for later so that I could distribute it to kids that missed class, or make it available online for them to review.
3) I would like to use this tool to help kids understand wave propagation. Traditionally, physics students learn about wave interfierence either by watching a lecture or interacting with physical ripple tanks. Ripple tanks are large tubs filled with a shallow layer of water with a light underneath. The water is agitated by some moving source to create ripples, and the students then observe how the ripples interact. This setup is expensive, delicate, and prone to causing a mess. There are several excellent online simulations of this same effects on a computer screen without the mes or cost of a physical setup. I would use the simulation provided at http://www.falstad.com/ripple/ to illustrate the wave interactions of these computer simulated waves up on the board. The simulation allows you to move the source around and adjust it's frequency in real time and observe the results. I would use the interactive whiteboard to project this simulation onto the front of the room and then use the mouse to interact with the virtual ripple tank in-front of the students. I could also allow the students to come up to the front and interact with the tank directly by using the infrared pen.
I will be demonstrating my setup next week (11/21) in class to allow students the chance to see this inexpensive design in action.
Here is a slideshow I prepared that briefly introduces the tools required to set up this type of Interactive Whiteboard and shows several pictures of me using it:
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