When reviewing the budget requests for the 2008-09 school year, the number of requests from my elementary school teachers brought on mixed feelings. On one hand it is extremely exciting to have so many teachers interested in learning about a technology, on the other hand, I was worried about the cost benefit ratio to this particular technology. We have piloted a few eBeam IWBs with limited success this year, which was due in part to not having the full interactive package shipped at the beginning of the year.
I was downloading some TED videos today and came across a recently posted talk in which Johnny Lee demonstrated rigging a Nintendo Wii remote to create a cheap interactive whiteboard. With $40 for the Wii remote and perhaps $10 for the pen parts, that's $50 for interactivity. Compare that to $2,000 for a Smartboard or Activboard (don't even mention the $5,000 to get one IWB shipped from Bangkok, the closest dealer). Granted, Smartboard and Activboard come with packaged software and other possible benefits.
I'll be bringing this conversation to my school's technology committee and perhaps student council and will be interested to see where it goes.
Here are some links to useful things I've come across when researching:
- A YouTube video of Johnny Lee demonstrating how to set up the Wiimote Interactive whiteboard
- A YouTube video of a teacher comparing a Wiimote IWB to commercial IWBs
- A How-To on building the pen and setting up the board
- A How-To on connecting the Wii remote to you computer via Bluetooth
- Johnny Lee's webpage with instructions and source code (only for Windows so far) for the whiteboard
3 comments:
If you're really interested, I could show you a step-by-step on how to make the Wiimote whiteboard. It's really cool and it does work. However, the key thing to remember is whether this would increase student learning. Take it from a user of both the Wiimote whiteboard and the Smartboard, the Wiimote whiteboard would not be used and would require far more support time. Now, does this mean the Wiimote whiteboard is not a good solution for teachers inside the classrooms? The answer is "not yet." However, it's important to keep looking at breakthroughs and affordable ways to bring meaningful technology into the classroom. Johnny Lee's wiimote whiteboard reminds us that there are innovative solutions everywhere!
The only other point I will make is that I have to disagree with you about the steep learning curve of the SMART Board. I found it was just the opposite. As for the wiimote whiteboard, the frustrations your teachers would have trying to use it on a daily basis could quite possibly turn them off of interactive whiteboards in general in the future.
(Send me an email if you want to build your own wiimote whiteboard and I'll send you some very clear video instructions on how to do it.)
Cheers!
Jim Hollis
Thanks for the response and your offer. I'll definitely email you.
I also want to respond about the steep learning curve. When I started using the Smartboard, it was shared amongst the teachers in my school. So using it required wheeling it to my room, setting up a projector, and booking a laptop. Once I had a good chunk of uninterrupted time (a few snow days) to work it out, I agree that it was easy. I think the learning curve is quickest when it is in a teacher's room permanently.
Thanks again for your comment. I will certainly share it with my school's technology committee as we consider our IWB options.
Hey JB,
I will definitely take your side on the difficulties that surround using the SMART Board (or any interactive whiteboard) when things are not set up and ready to go all the time.
The only real solution if you want teachers using the whiteboard is to have things permanently mounted. When all you have to do is align the SMART Board, teachers really start to use it as a meaningful tool in the classroom.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the wiimote is all the "little" problems that need fixing throughout the day. A lot a "little" problems add up to one "big" problem in a very short time.
Cheers!
Jim
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