Interacting with Interactive Whiteboards

A Project Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education

By Brandy Shelton

Touro University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

Masters of Arts

In Educational Technology

by

Brandy Shelton

May, 2010

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Abstract

Interactive technology is becoming a mainstay in many classrooms all over the world.

Although some teachers are finding it easy to make the transition into the digital world, others

are struggling to stay caught up and work the technology into their lessons and classrooms.

Interactive whiteboards are a perfect example of a technology that has been

implemented into classrooms without teachers really understanding its capabilities, or how to

use it as anything more than a projector. If the technology is available, why not make sure our

educators are educated in ways it can be used most effectively? This project examined

interactive whiteboards in the classroom and provided strategies that are effective at improving

students’ understanding of the content.

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Chapter 1

New technology entered our schools at a rapid speed at the beginning of the 21st century.

It took the form of laptop computers or document cameras, and. in 2010, as the interactive tool

called the interactive whiteboard (IWB). Unfortunately, just because these tools are in the

classroom, doesn’t always mean that there is adequate training for the teachers who are

supposed to use it.

It is common for teachers who receive an IWB to attend a one-day training session in

order to learn how to turn the board off and on, orient the screen, and perform other basic tasks.

Teachers often walk away feeling that the new tool awaiting them has more uses and functions

in their classroom and curriculum than they know what to do with. Both novice IWB users and

teachers with tech experience still have many of the same concerns and questions regarding the

new support tool. What are the best strategies for using an IWB in order to engage students?

How can an IWB engage students and deepen their understanding of the content? Are there

proven strategies that will help raise standardized test scores when a teacher uses an IWB?

Statement of the Problem

Many researchers investigated the above questions and the result and effect of

technology on the teaching and learning community as a whole. A study done by Ertmer and

Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) delves into the idea that teachers of the 21st century were still using

the same tools as those who came before them. Unlike the doctors and mechanics whose

diagnostic equipment has evolved and changed with the technology available, classroom

teachers are expected to teach to higher standards with the same equipment and knowledge that

was available ten to twenty years ago. “It is time to shift our mindsets away from the notion

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that technology provides a supplemental teaching tool and assume, as with other professions

that technology is essential to successful performance outcomes” (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-

Leftwich, 2010, p. 256). With this understanding comes the fact that teachers need to be taught

“how to use technology to facilitate meaningful learning, defined as that which enables students

to construct deep and connected knowledge” (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010, p. 257).

Simply understanding how to use a digital camera or presentation software is not enough.

Teachers need to learn how to use these tools to make their lessons and content more interactive

and vibrant, and how to teach students to use the same tools to express their own understanding

of the content.

Teachers have been using Shulman’s (1986, 1987) framework to conceptualize a

teacher’s knowledge for over twenty years. According to Shulman (1986), teacher knowledge

includes knowledge of the subject (content knowledge), knowledge of teaching methods and

classroom management strategies (pedagogical knowledge), and knowledge of how to teach

specific content to specific learners in specific contexts (pedagogical content knowledge). “To

use technology to facilitate student learning, teachers need additional knowledge and skills that

build on, and intersect with, those that Shulman (1986) described” (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-

Leftwich, 2010, p. 259). Well where does this additional knowledge come from? Ertmer and

Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) argue that teachers need to redefine their understanding of what

good teaching looks like in this new day and age, and once their definition has evolved they

then “need to see examples of what this kind of teaching looks like in practice” (p. 277). They

also believe that one of the best ways to support the change that teachers need to make in their

teaching is by “providing opportunities for them to witness how the change benefits their

students” (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010, p. 277). Borko and Putnam (1995) also believe

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that more is needed than professional development opportunities for teachers in the area of

technology when they said, “The workshops alone did not change these teachers. It was

listening to their own students solve the problems that made the greatest difference in their

instructional practices” (p.55). Teachers need professional development to help them

understand the technology and tools that they are able to work with, and then they need the

opportunities to see examples of it being used in a classroom, or even better, in their own

classroom.

The technology pieces that teachers are learning to work with come in many packages

and can support the classroom, teacher, and student learning in many different ways, but what

about IWBs specifically? Are IWBs able to really make a difference in a students’

understanding of the content? According to research done by Swan, Schenker, and Kratcoski

(2008) the use of IWBs in a K-12 setting can positively affect standardized test scores in both

language arts and mathematics when used with strong teaching strategies. It was how the

teachers in the study used their IWBs to convey the content that ultimately made the difference

in whether or not students’ test scores fell below or above the mean on average. Using the IWB

in a way that presents information to students similar to how a teacher might give a lecture isn’t

the most effective method; rather making the lessons and topics more student-centered and less

teacher-centered is how students become a key part of the teaching and learning process.

Showing teachers how to get from presentation-mode to interactive-mode is the challenge, and

those strong teaching strategies are the building blocks to unlocking the potential of the IWB.

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Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this project was to research the best strategies and methods for using

IWBs in a K-12 classroom. With this information the author put together a handbook that will

help teacher’s current lessons move away from being teacher-centered to more student-centered

by utilizing the interactive piece of the whiteboard to its fullest potential.

The study used articles, journals, and observations to collect data on this quickly

growing problem within the author’s school district. Questions the author sought to answer

research were:

How do most teachers combine their IWB knowledge with their pre-established content

knowledge?

What problems do most teachers come across when learning how to use their IWB?

What ways do most teachers use their IWB once they feel comfortable with the

technology and the tool?

What strategies can make the IWB more interactive and student-centered?

Project Objectives

The objectives for this project included the following goals. To provide guidance and

support for teachers to:

combine their content knowledge and teaching pedagogy with the new technology and

opportunities offered by the IWB

identify common methods that teachers use to teach language arts and methods to adapt

those activities to include the IWB as a transitional step towards a more effective and

engaging teaching style

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examine research-based instructional methods regarding effective conditions and

strategies that increase student achievement while teaching with the IWB

Definition of Terms

Interactive Whiteboard - An interactive whiteboard or IWB, is a large interactive display that

connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the

board's surface, where users control the computer using a pen, finger or other device. The board

is typically mounted to a wall or on a floor stand.

Summary

School systems must begin to educate teachers in the most productive uses of

technology in today’s classroom, otherwise all of the technology tools in the world won’t help

our students reach their greatest potential. It’s important for teachers to understand that even

though the skills and strategies that were around in the twentieth century still work, they aren’t

as effective more student-centered and interactive strategies. Research has found that IWBs can

make a positive impact on students’ understanding of content, but it is the most effective

strategies that will help teachers use the IWB to its highest potential. The author has put

together those strategies and methods to make the transition for teachers who are new to IWBs

easier and more efficient in the form of a handbook. The goal of the handbook is to give

teachers a reference point to improve language arts lessons, effective strategies that increase

student achievement, and the tools to make novice IWB users more comfortable with the

technology.

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References

Borko, H., & Putnam, R.T. (1995). Expanding a teacher’s knowledge base: A cognitive psychological perspective on professional development. In T.R. Guskey & M. Huberman (Eds.), Professional development in education: New paradigms & practices (pp. 35-66). New York: Teachers College Press.

Ertmer, P.A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A.T. (2010). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255-284.

Shulman, L.S (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4-14.

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.

Swan, K., Schenker, J., & Kratcoski, A. (2008). The effects of the use of interactive whiteboards on student achievement. In J. Luca & E. Weippl (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2008, 3290-3297. Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

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