Using the Interactive White Board in Teaching and Learning – An Evaluation of the SMART CLASSROOM Pilot Project

Abstract

In 2008, an educational organization that works in 60 countries across the world, established a pilot project whereby smart classrooms were installed for use in six middle and senior high schools in Israel. In this project, each school received 10 Interactive White Boards (IWBs) (25% of the total number of classrooms in the school), 32 laptops, internet connection, communication software and teacher training. Formative evaluation accompanied the pilot project for two years in order to examine the effects of integrating technology into instruction on teachers, students, and the school community.The findings indicated the following: a) student motivation and engagement in the learning process increased when studying with the IWB; b) teachers reported on their professional development and enhanced technology skills. The findings also showed that the integration of technology into instruction posed some difficulties and challenges, such as a sense of over-burdening among teachers. The main conclusions were the following: a) there is a need to focus on the pedagogical training of the teachers, with an emphasis on the ways that technology can assist interactive teaching; b) in order to help relieve the over-burdening of teachers, a database of instructional tools should be established providing suggestions for lesson plans and instructional materials; c) accessibility to the technology should be extended to more teachers and students by adding smart classrooms to every school in the project.

The Impact of Generational Status on Instructors’ Reported Technology Usage

“…Another frequently chosen response of Xers and Millennials was Audience Response Systems (e.g., classroom response systems or "clickers"). The existing literature supports the use of interactive white boards and classroom response systems as tools used to engage and motivate students, but both require changes in pedagogy (see Caldwell, 2007;Manny-Ikan, Tikochinski, Zorman, & Dagan, 2011). For example, challenges for implementing interactive whiteboards have been identified by instructors in a study by Manny-Ikan et al (2011).…”

“…The existing literature supports the use of interactive white boards and classroom response systems as tools used to engage and motivate students, but both require changes in pedagogy (see Caldwell, 2007;Manny-Ikan, Tikochinski, Zorman, & Dagan, 2011). For example, challenges for implementing interactive whiteboards have been identified by instructors in a study by Manny-Ikan et al (2011). In addition, classroom response systems tend to result in less content coverage that is compensated by improved student learning and teachers' understanding of student difficulties (see discussion by Caldwell, 2007).…”

Interactive Learning Model in Vocational Education with Smart Board Technology

“…The discovery of new models, methods and strategies in learning through the integration of information technology and communication in learning has become a serious study lately. Technology and communication can give students direct access to information and resources, allowing them to create meaningful learning experiences, exclusive to traditional classical learning [3].…”

FeetForward: On Blending New Classroom Technologies into Secondary School Teachers’ Routines

“…Secondary schools in developed countries are widely equipped with interactive whiteboards. they are generally seen as a useful tool for teaching and learning [41,42]. However, various disadvantages restrict the use of interactive whiteboard.…”