Interactive whiteboards affect learning in several ways, including raising the level of student engagement in a classroom, motivating students and promoting enthusiasm for learning. Electronic whiteboards support many different learning styles and are used in a variety of learning environments, including those catering to students with hearing and visual impairments.

    Research also indicates that notes taken on an interactive whiteboard can play a key role in the student review process, leading to higher levels of student attendance. In addition to the observed positive impacts on student learning, research shows that designing lessons around digital whiteboards helps educators streamline their preparation, be more efficient in their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration and increase their productivity overall.

    An introduction on interactive whiteboard

    An interactive whiteboard is a touch-sensitive screen that works in conjunction with a computer and a projector. When the first interactive whiteboard was produced, the educators were the first people to recognize the interactive whiteboard’s potential as a tool for collaboration, improving student learning outcomes and streamlining lesson planning.

    How is an interactive whiteboard used in a learning environment?

    Interactive whiteboards are an effective way to interact with digital content and multimedia in a ulti-person learning environment. Learning activities with an interactive whiteboard may include, but are not limited to the following:

    • Manipulating text and images

    • Making notes in digital ink

    • Saving notes for later review by using e-mail, the Web or print

    • Viewing websites as a group

    • Demonstrating or using software at the front of a room without being tied to a computer

    • Creating digital lesson activities with templates, images and multimedia

    • Writing notes over educational video clips

    • Using presentation tools that are included with the whiteboard software to enhance learning materials

    • Showcasing student presentations

    Student Engagement

    Most people need to reinforce their beliefs and understandings by asking others questions, thereby making learning an inherently social activity. Current education theories are grounded in the notion of the social learner and position student engagement as a key component of knowledge construction.

    These learning theories are shown in the following chart. A common thread between these three learning theories is the understanding that student engagement is crucial to learning and, as a growing collection of international research proves, interactive whiteboards promote student engagement. Educators can use digital resources while maintaining dynamic interaction with the entire class, provide computer-based learning without isolating students and encourage a higher level of student interaction in both teacher-directed and group-based exchanges. Interactive whiteboards promote interaction among the students.Having a display surface large enough for everyone to see encourages a high level of student interaction. A teacher and a student can interact with the interactive whiteboard at the front of the class and the rest of the students remain involved.

    Whole-class teaching brings the entire class together, focuses their attention and provides structured, teacher-focused group interaction.

    Constructivism relies on the learner to select and transform information, build hypotheses in order to make decisions and ultimately construct meaning.

    Active learning learners actively engage in the learning process through reading, writing, discussion, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, rather than passively absorbing instruction (e.g., lecture model of instruction).

    when used effectively, Interactive whiteboards can indeed provide a multitude of rich learning opportunities for students. From demonstrations to Jeopardy-type games and everything in between, when student participation is encouraged the sky is the limit in terms of student learning potential. Interactive whiteboards take learning to a whole new dimension, beyond teacher-centered lectures to teacher facilitated explorations utilizing sight, sound, and touch. In effect, interactive whiteboards can move students from being one-dimensional thinkers to well rounded critical thinkers who have a repertoire of experiences to pull from.