Use of interactive whiteboards

The use of interactive whiteboards in classrooms has increased a lot after we realized how much the use of interactive whiteboard helps students in learning. As with anything, there are disadvantages and advantages. With interactive whiteboards also, there are certain advantages and disadvantages. However, there are more advantages than disadvantages.

The main advantages of interactive whiteboard are that it helps a lot in learning from a student’s point of view. It is also easier to organize lessons and accommodate students who were not present during the class as the notes can be saved and then given to the students. Also, teachers can make the lessons more interesting by adding online quizzes, pictures, videos or anything relevant to what is being taught in class. 

When notes can be saved on computer, it gives students the time and freedom to actually participate in the group discussions.It also gives teachers and students a chance to present PowerPoint presentations or likewise and annotate it with all the discussion. This gives the students the ability to speak in front of an audience, knowing for future what mistakes can be avoided (technical as well as voice projection).

"Interactive whiteboards are used in many schools as replacements for traditional whiteboards or flipcharts. They provide ways to show students anything which can be presented on a computer's desktop (educational software, web sites, and others). In addition, interactive whiteboards allow teachers to record their instruction and post the material for review by students at a later time. This can be a very effective instructional strategy for students who benefit from repetition, who need to see the material presented again, for students who are absent from school, for struggling learners, and for review for examinations. Brief instructional blocks can be recorded for review by students—they will see the exact presentation that occurred in the classroom with the teacher's audio input. This can help transform learning and instruction." (Wikipedia 8/07)

There are, however, some disadvantages in having interactive whiteboards. First would be the costliness of it. Having an interactive whiteboard in every classroom of the school is a very expensive proposition and not a very wise one if the teaching staff is not trained properly as improper use of the whiteboard can lead to expensive repairs. Also, if the teachers don’t know exactly what they can do with the whiteboards, then there isn’t much difference between having an interactive whiteboard and having a normal whiteboard. You have to be very careful when writing on an interactive board as small mistakes can lead to big and expensive repairs.

All in all, I think that there are more advantages in having interactive whiteboards in the classrooms than disadvantages. The interactive whiteboards help a lot in making students understand the text and it helps in students being able to enjoy the lessons more. The teachers can plan their lesson in advance and those lessons can be shared by many teachers, so less time is spent on thinking about how to teach the lesson as the lesson is already structured for you. However, you cannot ignore that there are disadvantages in having interactive whiteboards in a classroom. They are a very expensive proposition and the staff has to be trained to be able to use the whiteboard properly. The cost of repairing one is high and that should be kept in mind when buying interactive whiteboards for the school.