I recently read a paper on the successful use of interactive whiteboards in English, Australian and US schools. A consultant to the research team, Emeritus Professor Phillip Hughes of ANU, describes the use of this technology as being a major turning point in education (next to printing, the book and free, compulsory education), a point of 'digital take off'. The report uses this phrase to describe the situation in a school where ICTs go from being a peripheral teaching tool to being fully embedded and integrated in the curriculum. According to the authors (who may or may not have a vested interest in pushing the use of IWB technology), the quick uptake of IWB use by all staff including the so called 'luddites' is the critical element distinguishing the impact of this technology from other educational technology applications.
The study does not give conclusive reasons as to why more teachers were willing to embrace the use of this technology when they may have been reluctant users of computers and other technologies previously. Is it because it utilises a tool which is familiar to all teachers, the white/blackboard and therefore presents less of a percieved challenge? Or, do the features of this technology enhance the teaching a learning process so greatly that people are genuinely motivated to use it? I am interested in finding out from educators with experience using IWBs what they think? Can tablet computers and the use of software like Classroom Presenter do the same thing to improve the chances of 'digital take-off'? Is this the device that schools should train teachers with first to act as a launchpad to other technologies?
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