Interactive Whiteboards-A Blessing or a Curse?

It seems ironic that I would have anything bad to say about interactive whiteboards, since I used one during my field experience and found it to be an excellent tool for both myself and the students I was teaching. These interactive whiteboards, such as the one pictured here, have become increasingly common in schools in recent years and have received a great deal of praise for their ability to help motivate students and make classrooms more interactive. However, these boards have also received some criticisms including; the amount of training given to teachers, whether the money used to add these boards to the classroom could not be put to better use, and if students are really motivated these new interactive whiteboards or if they are simply a "glorified chalkboard" with some cool interactive features.

These interactive whiteboards do appear to have a great many advantages. According to one study done by Robert J. Marzano, who looked at 200 classrooms, those with interactive whiteboards saw significant benefits that were lacking from the more traditional classrooms. Among these benefits were a 16 point percentile point gain in student achievement, in general when using the whiteboard, as well as increases in student participation and motivation. You can read more about these results by following this link: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/nov09/vol67/num03/Teaching_with_Interactive_Whiteboards.aspx. However, Marzano cautions that while these interactive whiteboards can be a powerful tool but that it will always remain simply a tool and if not used effectively than it does not truly benefit instruction. In fact one-fourth of the teachers in his study did better without the whiteboard than with it. It should also be noted that not all school districts are being rigorous in teachers how to use the technology, for instance, in Maryland's Kent County Schools, require teachers to apply for the whiteboard program, attend summer training sessions, have monthly follow ups, participate in a teacher blog discussion, and study the material on the best uses of the interactive whiteboard technology. However, someone who commented on this article with the screen name CEE, stated that in their district no training is offered or given unless you set it up yourself and do it during non-contract hours. I also have heard from some teachers here in the Waterloo, Iowa area that not much training has went in to ensuring all teachers can use the interactive whiteboards effectively.

This lack of training appears to be just one of the flaws that seems to be developing in using interactive whiteboards in the classroom. For instance, in the United Kingdom, where interactive whiteboards are available in 98% of secondary schools and 100% of primary schools the benefits and the flaws of interactive whiteboards are more apparent. For instance, one study found that the increase in student motivation was short lived after the novelty of the technology wore off and statistical analysis showed no impact on pupil performance once the interactive whiteboards had been in use for one year. More information on this study can be found at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_whiteboard#Criticisms. It has also been noted that some teachers become tied to the interactive whiteboard and no longer move around the classroom in order to ensure all students are actively involved in the lessons. Other problems with the whiteboards are their high cost, and many have argued that the money may be better spent on laptops or mobile devices that allow for one-to-one computing for students. School librarians have also noted that the high price tag of interactive whiteboards, has cost them the ability to buy traditional resources, such as books, and having enough staff, especially during tough economic times.

These are all valid points and clearly a great deal more research needs to be done to determine the advantages and disadvantages of interactive whiteboards and how they should ultimately be used in the classroom. I know I for one look forward to seeing what happens because clearly this is an important issue and will ultimately effect how I teach.

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2888347999/sizes/m/