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When I was a young kid, education was had little more appeal to me than the black and white text and the superficial, smiling faces of the cartoon illustrations in my Maths text book smiling back at me. The truth is, everything that I ever studied in a text book, regardless of the context of the subject being taught, never seemed to have any real world application (with the exception of modern history, of course).

As a student, one thing I appealed for was a little dose of reality. Something I could take out of my logic-building subjects and apply within a real world context, and shape a macro-conscious understanding of the world that we are all born into.

It may seem a little strange that I think this way, but I know I’m not the only one out there. Throughout life’s journey, we begin to meet a lot of different people, from different countries, with different backgrounds, ideals and opinions. For example, upon my most recent trip to America, I shared a cab with a middle-aged man from Florida, in the sunny South. When I told him from Australia, after setting aside the quizzical and humorous trivialities, he proceeded to ask me about our culture. One thing that got my attention was, “Hey, don’t you guys still have cannibals to the north or something like that?” I did nothing but stare back in astonishment at what I had just heard. I sat there thinking,”is this guy for real?” but as it turns out, he was. Anyway, after settling a gross misconception about the cultures residing in Australia, it made me think, what do they really teach people in schools? I mean, I for one, was brought up to believe that people in the deep south of America were all ‘rednecks’. After seeing it myself however, I then realized the folly of my original assumption. In fact, I felt stupid. The people in the deep south of America were lovely, their hospitality amazing, their personalities humble and unassuming. It made me think hard to myself, was I at fault, or was it because my school had never instilled me with a little bit of cultural sensitivity. It must not be misconstrued that I am inferring to race, because I’m not, I’m just illustrating the point that at my school in Australia, we were never really given any true insight into the surrounding cultures of the world because we never had the resources.

I reckon, with a little dose of reality, my subjects could have had a more gravitational impact on me by keeping me engaged via a real-world contextual adaptation of the subject matter. After trawling the web recently out of part curiosity and the other part boredom, I came across this little gem: the interactive whiteboard.

If you’re not familiar with the technology, a fair summary of its function and purpose is that it is an interactive touch panel, with the ability to run interactive ‘lessons’ in which the student can use their sense of touch to navigate, have fun and most of all, learn. So, how does this type of technology illustrate my above point? Well, I came across this unique yet bizarre application of interactive whiteboard technology. An interactive whiteboard lesson, mathematics, to be exact, introducing young students to pictures of the real world around them - parts of which, they may never have known even in their wildest dreams! Not only are students building upon powerful, essential mathematical logic, but they are also tacitly learning about the housing situation in Mozambique, the types of brick houses that they have in Uganda, and the types of communities in South Africa. The children engaging with this marvelous technology are subconsciously adopting a sense of cultural sensitivity at a young age via the impactful medium of touch-sensitive information technology.

So what does this mean? Well, aside from the obvious value of children being able to engage with their subject matter, it also brings about the destruction of trans-continental apathy. When they see similar images on the news, the pictures that they see will already tell 1000 words because they’ve established a geographical and cultural understanding of their surrounds. Man, did I ever wish I could have been introduced to that type of thing as a kid!

What are your thoughts? Do you see the integration of cultural learning into mainstream subjects via technology beneficial for the development of values in schools? Or do you see this type of learning combination as an impediment on traditional educational methods?

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If you’re yet to familiarize yourself with this emergent facet of modern day education, interactive whiteboards (IWBs), are fast becoming a pedagogical tool in educational environments such as junior schools and high schools.

The decision to fund the use of the interactive whiteboard in the classroom is an expensive one, after all, it’s not your traditional melamine, easily erasable whiteboard we’re talking about here. The decision to introduce the touch sensitive interactive whiteboard to the classroom comes as a result of the demand for a more engaging and ‘hands-on’ way of learning.

This sounds like another fad, right? Well, not really. As with all emergent technology, there will always be divided parties for and against it. With interactive whiteboards however, the latter party seems to be small in numbers. The truth is, many junior school and high school teachers are becoming more and more supportive of the introduction of IWBs because the benefits grossly outweigh those of the traditional form of education.

Overhead projectors, Chalkboards, Flimsy photocopied print-outs… They’re all becoming archaic in their educational purpose and, and with the interactive whiteboard in the throes of strengthening its grip on K-12 education, fast becoming obsolete.

Interactive whiteboards are a multi-channelled solution to learning in the dull and drab classroom. The question must be asked however, will the permanent inception of these new learning tools into the modern day classroom hinder on a child’s imagination or their ability to pair elements of logic without the guidance of an electronic learning oracle?

And what about the academic merit of the teacher in the classroom? Will the standards drop in teaching, because the head of the classroom no longer has to fall back on their own academic merit, rather, they can consult the great Google bot via the convenience of their interactive whiteboard. Without sounding too sardonic here, there are a couple of interesting points that must be raised when contemplating the application of interactive whiteboards in the classroom.

As mentioned earlier, the benefits of interactive whiteboards grossly outweigh the negatives. In fact, one of the most widely documented benefits of interactive whiteboard use amongst pupils is their motivation and affect on pupils. Lessons become more enjoyable and interesting to students within the classroom, lessons move forward with haste, and there are even recorded improvements within the well-being of students who never before had the confidence to stand in front of their peers and give a presentation. Interactive whiteboards have also proven themselves useful to students with attention deficit disorders with their ability to engage via the educational content and build retention rates, rather than presenting the content in a slab of text on a piece of paper.

When you consider the above points, it seems that in due course, interactive whiteboards will certainly earn a permanent space within the modern day classroom. As technology continues to advance, society’s expectations will advance with it. An interactive education solution to the classroom is well overdue, as was the need to replace the old educational relics like the overhead projector and the flimsy paper print-out. What are your thoughts on the subject?

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An Introduction to Interactive Whiteboards

If you’ve been wondering about the latest phenomenon circulating around the education industry, then you may have come across the term ‘interactive whiteboard’ once or twice. Needless to say, by definition, it’s not too hard to ascertain exactly what it does. But for those who are still unsure, by technical definition an interactive whiteboard is a touch-sensitive screen that works synchronously with a computer and projector.

In the education sector, the interactive whiteboard was recognized for its vital importance as a learning tool for budding young students. The culmination of mental and physical learning stimulation meant that banal learning would be a thing of the past. Through interactive learning, teachers realized that they could alleviate relative attention deficit behavior by engaging the students through this revolutionary technology.Interactive whiteboards are here to stay. Unveiled in the early 90s, and since evolving to unparalleled technological standards, they’re soon to become an integral part of the modern day classroom.

But just how exactly do they benefit students in class? It’s a fair question to ask, because as with all new technology, there’s generally a tough period of adjustment before the technology itself becomes a staple part of daily function.

In the classroom, interactive whiteboards are the perfect way to culminate student interaction, digital content and multimedia in a multi-person learning environment. Interactive whiteboards are multi-faceted with regards to their function and purpose. Interactive whiteboards are subconsciously cognitive; when a student engages themselves in the subject matter on screen, they are also developing their skills subconsciously at the same time. While using interactive whiteboards, students can learn to manipulate text and images, take notes in digital ink, further develop their skills with continued interaction with a graphical interface and operating system, develop web skills and much more.

The fact is, interactive whiteboards affect learning in several different ways. Not only do they raise the bar for student engagement in the classroom, they also encourage enthusiasm in the classroom, team-work and in some cases may even lower the classroom absentee rate - and all because students no longer have to feign their interest over a boring book, they’re instead presented with subject matter that they can see, touch and most of all interact with. What the future holds for interactive whiteboards   

Given their popularity and proven benefits in the classroom, interactive whiteboards are set to become a cornerstone of learning through their application and development. In 2010 alone, there has been an enormous growth across Western civilizations such as America, Australia and the United Kingdom. It needs to be acknowledged however, that interactive whiteboard technology is still in somewhat of a ‘beta’ phase. Only until this technology is perfected, and mass produced, will we see it worldwide. In the meantime,

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There’s a new form of learning hitting a classroom near you - it’s manufactured, and it’s interactive. It comes in the form of something known as an interactive whiteboard; but what is an interactive whiteboard, and just what exactly does it do?

An interactive whiteboard (IWB) is to be defined as a large display panel that can be hooked up to a computer and a projector. Once hooked up, the projector can transmit the desktop display of the computer onto the whiteboard panel. What’s unique, however, is that the projection of the desktop can actually be controlled via human touch. Users can interact with the whiteboard using either their own finger, a pen or another rounded device.

It’s a form of augmented reality, and it’s taking the world by storm. Teachers are embracing interactive whiteboards as an imperative part of classroom activity.

Interactive Whiteboards in Schools

Since their inception into the market, the innovation of interactive whiteboard products has created a salient point for presentational mediums. IWBs have achieved their success through alleviating the need for interactivity in an otherwise relatively static form of communication. In turn, this has quite flippantly changed the ways in which children learn in the classroom.

Teachers see many positives in using interactive whiteboard products because ‘hands-on’ exercises seem to resonate better with school children, henceforth increasing their retention rates. Conversely, there are also those who are critical of the technology - notably teachers in secondary schools - who perceive interactive whiteboards to be more of a distraction for the children.

General Operation of Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards have been designed to be user friendly, with a relatively simple interface and setup process. To set up an interactive whiteboard, you can connect the device to the computer via a USB cable (generally provided with the product, by the manufacturer). The IWB can also be synched up to a computer via a Bluetooth wireless connection.

There is a unique device driver installed within the host computer to enable the Human Input Device (HID), similar to that of a mouse or other external hardware devices. Once the software is installed, the user of the interactive whiteboard will then be able to physically interact with the output on display.

The most common form of interaction with an IWB is resistive touch-based interaction using either fingers or pointed implements, however there are also electromagnetic pen-based, IR pen-based interactive whiteboards available. In some cases, even the Wii remote has been used to operate IWBs.

Where to Find Interactive Whiteboard Resources

Interactive whiteboards have adopted an almost ‘open-source’ approach to their educational application; this is to enable teachers who use the interactive whiteboards to upload and freely share interactive whiteboard lessons with their educational peers. Most interactive whiteboard manufacturers have promoted this feature to maintain maximum levels of engagement via their use in the classroom.

For students learning through interactive whiteboards, this means that they do not face impervious amounts of boredom through the mundane repetition of lessons, thus keeping retention rates high as a result of their interest in the interactive whiteboard activity.

Interactive whiteboard manufacturers, such as Hitachi, have set up online interactive whiteboard resource communities for teachers to share and exchange lessons and ideas for their interactive whiteboards.

With the IWB trend on the rise, and more schools embracing the technology into their classroom, what is being dictated about the future of education? Only time will tell. Still premature in their use, we will continue to see added emphasis on interactive whiteboards as more and more are integrated into their respective schooling applications.

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There’s a new form of learning hitting a classroom near you - it’s manufactured, and it’s interactive. It comes in the form of something known as an interactive whiteboard; but what is an interactive whiteboard, and just what exactly does it do?

An interactive whiteboard (IWB) is to be defined as a large display panel that can be hooked up to a computer and a projector. Once hooked up, the projector can transmit the desktop display of the computer onto the whiteboard panel. What’s unique, however, is that the projection of the desktop can actually be controlled via human touch. Users can interact with the whiteboard using either their own finger, a pen or another rounded device.

It’s a form of augmented reality, and it’s taking the world by storm. Teachers are embracing interactive whiteboards as an imperative part of classroom activity.

Interactive Whiteboards in Schools

Since their inception into the market, the innovation of interactive whiteboard products has created a salient point for presentational mediums. IWBs have achieved their success through alleviating the need for interactivity in an otherwise relatively static form of communication. In turn, this has quite flippantly changed the ways in which children learn in the classroom.

Teachers see many positives in using interactive whiteboard products because ‘hands-on’ exercises seem to resonate better with school children, henceforth increasing their retention rates. Conversely, there are also those who are critical of the technology - notably teachers in secondary schools - who perceive interactive whiteboards to be more of a distraction for the children.

General Operation of Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards have been designed to be user friendly, with a relatively simple interface and setup process. To set up an interactive whiteboard, you can connect the device to the computer via a USB cable (generally provided with the product, by the manufacturer). The IWB can also be synched up to a computer via a Bluetooth wireless connection.

There is a unique device driver installed within the host computer to enable the Human Input Device (HID), similar to that of a mouse or other external hardware devices. Once the software is installed, the user of the interactive whiteboard will then be able to physically interact with the output on display.

The most common form of interaction with an IWB is resistive touch-based interaction using either fingers or pointed implements, however there are also electromagnetic pen-based, IR pen-based interactive whiteboards available. In some cases, even the Wii remote has been used to operate IWBs.

Where to Find Interactive Whiteboard Resources

Interactive whiteboards have adopted an almost ‘open-source’ approach to their educational application; this is to enable teachers who use the interactive whiteboards to upload and freely share interactive whiteboard lessons with their educational peers. Most interactive whiteboard manufacturers have promoted this feature to maintain maximum levels of engagement via their use in the classroom.

For students learning through interactive whiteboards, this means that they do not face impervious amounts of boredom through the mundane repetition of lessons, thus keeping retention rates high as a result of their interest in the interactive whiteboard activity.

Interactive whiteboard manufacturers, such as Hitachi, have set up online interactive whiteboard resource communities for teachers to share and exchange lessons and ideas for their interactive whiteboards.

With the IWB trend on the rise, and more schools embracing the technology into their classroom, what is being dictated about the future of education? Only time will tell. Still premature in their use, we will continue to see added emphasis on interactive whiteboards as more and more are integrated into their respective schooling applications.

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Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) are a revolutionary form of interactive education rapidly increasing in popularity with many educational bodies across the world beginning to integrate interactive whiteboards into their schools.

Interactive whiteboards were initially received skeptically by academics, however after extensive trails in classrooms worldwide and countless studies on the subject - many schools are drawing the conclusion that interactive whiteboards can be extremely beneficial to children given their high levels of engagement.

In fact, interactive whiteboards have become so versatile that manufacturers are now allowing teachers to ‘create their own lessons’ to use on their operating systems, as well as share for free with other teachers.

Interactive whiteboard resource centres

As a result of IWB driven initiatives by the technological manufacturers, the appearance of IWB dedicated online communities has become quite widespread.

Now, there are a variety of online forums and support centres dedicated to the development and integration of interactive whiteboards into the educational community. This means free interactive whiteboard resources for teachers, and a subsequent increase in the number of lessons available to maintain the high levels of engagement expected out of the performance of interactive whiteboards in classrooms.

One such example of an online community dedicated to sharing IWB resources for teachers is the Hitachi Starboard forum, dedicated to members of the community who have adopted Hitachi starboards into their curricular activities.

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