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Interacting with Interactive Whiteboards

A Project Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education

By Student

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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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 technology being implemented into all sorts

of classrooms without teachers really understanding their capabilities, or how to use them 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 thesis will look at how interactive

whiteboards are being used in many classrooms today, and what strategies are shown to be the

most effective at improving students’ understanding of the content.

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Chapter 1

New technology is entering our schools and classrooms everyday. Sometimes it’s in the

form of laptop computers or document cameras, and other times as an interactive tool such as an

interactive whiteboard (IWB). However, just because these tools enter the classroom, doesn’t

always mean that there is adequate training for the teachers that will be using it.

When I received an IWB in my classroom this school year I was sent to a one-day

training session where I learned how to turn my board off and on, orient the screen, and perform

other basic tasks. I walked away realizing that the new tool I had waiting for me in my room

probably had more uses and tricks than I would figure out for quite some time. Now here I am,

about six months later, still trying to learn what the best strategies are for using my IWB and

connecting to my students. How do I get them more involved in the learning process? Are

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

What obstacles do most teachers who receive IWBs face when they are new to the technology?

Statement of the Problem

Many researchers have begun to scratch the surface on many of these questions and how

technology has affected 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 are

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

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

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

Leftwich, 2010, p. 256). With this understanding then 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

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

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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 affective 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.

Purpose of the Project

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

in a K-12 classroom. With this information I hope to put together a handbook that will help

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teachers current lessons move away from being teacher-centered to more student-centered by

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

I will be using articles, journals, teacher interviews, surveys, and observations to collect

data on this quickly growing problem within the Benicia Unified School District. Some of the

questions I hope to answer with my research are:

• How much knowledge do most teachers have when they first begin working with an

IWB?

• 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 include the following:

• Determining how much exposure and understanding most teachers have when they first

begin working with their IWB.

• Determine how teachers combine their former content knowledge and teaching methods

with the new technology and opportunities that the IWB offers.

• Discovering the most common ways that teachers use their IWB in the classroom after

adapting to the technology.

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• Discovering the best strategies that make lessons with the IWB more student-centered

and less teacher-centered.

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

If school systems don’t begin to educate teachers in the most productive uses of

technology in today’s classroom, then all of the technology tools in the world won’t do our

students any good. It’s important for teachers to understand that even though the skills and

strategies that were around twenty years ago still work, they don’t work as well more student-

centered and interactive strategies do especially when it comes to supportive tools like the IWB.

We know that IWBs can make a positive impact on students’ understanding of content, but the

best strategies will help teachers use the IWB to its highest potential. I hope to put together

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

more efficient.

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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.