Interactive Whiteboards

Welcome to the Interactive Whiteboard Page

Below you will find a slideshow of the technology trends of Interactive Whiteboards. This page contains information on how teachers are using Interactive Whiteboards and how these technology tools can be used more effectively for student achievement. Also included below are three overviews of research articles relating to Interactive Whiteboard trends.

Interactive Whiteboards for Learning

Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) were designed originally to be used in an office setting, but they have become prevalent in the classroom. Educators hoped that these interactive tools could increase learning and improve academic performance. Is this really true? Higgins, Beauchamp, and Miller (2007) strove to find the answer to this question and others. The authors began by focusing on the possibilities technology had to offer in an educational setting. They also looked at the impact IWB’s had on teaching approaches. Finally, they looked to see if there was any evidence of student learning and/or academic gains when using IWB’s in the classroom.

There are many benefits to IWB’s. Some of the features are accessibility to pictures, videos, text, diagrams, the internet, and sound. Teachers were also able to display abstract ideas in the hopes that students could understand the material more readily. Also, IWB’s allowed teachers to prepare for and move through a lesson quicker. The IWB was also initially user-friendly. Some challenges with the IWB’s are that the upkeep is difficult. They are also costly. Height access for the teacher and the student is an issue. Getting to know all of the technical features also takes time.

When looking at teacher/student pedagogy and Interactive Whiteboards, the conclusion was that good teaching is good teaching no matter what tools are used in the classroom. As teachers use the IWB’s more thoroughly, they see the link to a change in their teaching. This then becomes an incentive to make a change.

Interactive Whiteboards Used for Literacy and Maths

Since its induction in 1991, the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) has become quite popular in many educational settings. It was not until 2004 that this technology tool became more affordable for schools in England. Because of this, more schools introduced the IWB to the classroom. Shenton & Pagett (2007) studied the effects the IWB had on a group of teachers and primary students in math and literacy classrooms in England. The authors also looked at how much interaction was actually happening with the whiteboard. Shenton & Pagett (2007) concluded that these technology tools could have a large effect on motivation and engagement. In order for this to happen though, professional development should focus more on student engagement with the board vs. just technology training. Also, teachers need to give students more opportunities to engage with the IWB across all subjects. Having teachers focus on good teaching practices while engaging students with the IWB could increase student success even more.

Do Interactive Whiteboards Produce Results?

The popularity of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) has increased greatly since their introduction in society. There was much hope that these technology tools could make positive changes in education. Marzano (2009) wanted to see if the claims of using IWB’s caused greater student achievement, engagement, and motivation was true. A study was conducted based on a group of teachers who taught with the IWB to some classes and not to other classes. One finding was that when students used the learner response devices, student achievement rose. Also, when teachers used the IWB graphics and reinforcers, this increased student success. In some instances, however, students showed improvement without interactive whiteboards. If teachers did not talk through incorrect questions, then student achievement dropped Also, if teachers used too many visuals, this confused students. Marzano concluded that simply using an IWB would not automatically increase student achievement. Good classroom practices needed to be used to improve student success with or without technology.

References

Higgins, S., Beauchamp, G., & Miller, D. (2007). Reviewing the literature on interactive whiteboards. Learning, Media and technology, 32(3), 213-225.

Marzano, R. J. (2009). Teaching with interactive whiteboards. Educational leadership, 67(3), 80-82.

Shenton, A., & Pagett, L. (2007). From ‘bored’to screen: the use of the interactive whiteboard for literacy in six primary classrooms in England. Literacy, 41(3), 129-136.

Smith, H. J., Higgins, S., Wall, K., & Miller, J. (2005). Interactive whiteboards: boon or bandwagon? A critical review of the literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21(2), 91-101.

Whatever happened to interactive whiteboards? Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice. (2020, March 2). Retrieved from https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2020/03/03/whatever-happened-to-interactive-whiteboards/.