10 Tips for Teaching with an Interactive Whiteboard Go to Articles

17 December 2008

Interactive whiteboard technology can enrich the learning and teaching experience. However, using this technology – and using it well – may seem a little overwhelming. These research-based tips will help make its introduction and ongoing use in your classroom easy and effective.

Practise

• Practise using the board and the software before you use them in a lesson.
• Let the students explore the board and software and experiment with the functions.

Prepare

• Prepare and save activity files before class to reduce in-lesson preparation time. Keep the files where you can easily find and open them.
• Check that colours and writing size can be seen from the back of the classroom. Ensure that light (natural and artificial) is not affecting visibility. Clean any smudges and dust from the screen and data projector lens.
• Recalibrate the board before each lesson. Recalibration aligns the touch screen with the image. If the calibration is out, your writing, for example, will appear in a different position to where you touch the screen.
• Check that students can comfortably reach most of the board.

Proceed

• Use the touch screen, not the computer, to navigate around the software. When you sit behind the computer you are detached from the students. You can better engage with them when you use the touch screen.
• Make sure there is a purpose to all student–software interaction. Students really see the mathematics when they manipulate the software tools. However, interaction for the sake of interaction distracts from the learning.
• Pace yourself. The technology increases efficiency, which means you can present the next step in the lesson more quickly (e.g. a comparison number line). Use this time to focus on the teaching and discussion.
• Use the board and software to their full potential. Think of them as resources for developing questioning and interactive learning, rather than just as tools for presenting information (e.g. leave “gaps” in activity files for the students to discuss and fill in).

Bibliography

Actis Ltd. (n.d.). Interactive whiteboards: An approach to an effective methodology. Retrieved January 18, 2007, from http://www.virtuallearning.org.uk/whiteboards/An_approach_to_an_effective_methodology.pdf

Armstrong, V., Barnes, S., Sutherland, R., Curran, S., Mills, S., & Thompson, I. (2005). Collaborative research methodology for investigating teaching and learning: The use of interactive whiteboard technology. Educational Review, 57, 457–469.

Beauchamp, G. (2004). Teacher use of the interactive whiteboard in primary schools: Towards an effective transition framework. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 13, 327–348.

Hall, I., & Higgins, S. (2005). Primary school students’ perceptions of interactive whiteboards. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21, 102–117

Higgins, S., Beauchamp, G., & Miller, D. (2007). Reviewing the literature on interactive whiteboards. Learning, Media and Technology, 32, 213–225.

Kent, P. (2006). Using interactive whiteboards to enhance maths teaching. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 11, 23–26.

Levy, P. (2002). Interactive whiteboards in learning and teaching in two Sheffield schools: A developmental study. Retrieved January 17, 2007, from http://dis.shef.ac.uk/eirg/projects/wboards.htm

Smith, H.J., Higgins, S., Wall, K., & Miller, J. (2005). Interactive whiteboards: Boon or bandwagon? A critical review of the literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21, 91–101.

Wall, K., Higgins, S., & Smith, H. (2005). “The visual helps me understand the complicated things”: Pupil views of teaching and learning with interactive whiteboards. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36, 851–867.