Interactive Whiteboards in Today's Classroom

I believe that interactive whiteboards can be useful and or can be a waste. I feel that if a school or a teacher is going to invest in the money on the whiteboard that it should be used more than any other tool in the classroom.My class and I have read articles that talk a lot of the pros and cons of the IWB.  In the articles that my SEDU 183 class read, many of the articles talked about how the teachers and students were excited about the board. But, after a few months it was untouched and not used. It became more work for the teacher to have to use the tool the way it was intended. It was intended to teach material in a way that students could come up to the interactive bored and actively participate. When students were unable to come up it became just as boring as the other methods of teaching the material. So now you have bought this thousand of dollars whiteboard and your students are still not understanding or participating in class. This tool could be a great tool if used properaly. Do not just teach to your students, teach with them. Have you students come up and show, demonstrate or explain to the classroom. When you are not just preaching information instead you are interactive teaching your classroom results will be much greater.

My own experience through having whiteboards is when I was in high school.  A few of the classrooms had the boards, but it was very rare to see a teacher using the board in class. If they did use it we were never allowed to go up and interact using it. It was like some sort of prized possession and if we got close to it, it would shatter into a million pieces. Plus, I cant remember the teachers ever really using it in a way that we could come up and interact. It was using as an updated projector machine. We used it to copy notes or to be shown how to do something on the computer since you can make the whiteboard into a computer screen. Just like in the article by the washington post they say that the teachers weren't using the IWB correctly in the classroom. It became less of a fun new interactive whiteboard to a useless, dust gathering waste of space. 


I feel that this tool is good for a differentiated classroom. In a classroom you do not know the learning styles of the students you are getting until you have them. Some of your students might be hands on learners or visual learners this board would be good for them to use. They would be able to see the information or even be able to learn through experience. The IWB is a great tool if used correctly and used directed at students that could benefit from it.