Like most new teachers I am excited about the possibilities available to me through using interactive whiteboards in the classroom. My first exposure to an IWB has been at university, and the brief play I got to have in one lesson was enough to convince me of their potential for creating engaging, enjoyable and interesting lessons.
I do wonder about the educational outcomes for students and whether a link can be drawn between IWBs and higher-order thinking, however I realise that it is probably too early in the career of IWBs for there to be much in the way of quantitative research available on this link.
From an English teaching perspective I am still tracing out the connections in my brain in terms of how I can best utilise the IWB for my teaching. I think breaking the traditional whiteboard/projector mould of pedagogy is the toughest part - my visions of using an IWB tend not to break free of traditional methods of instruction, which could be carried out, to some extent, without an IWB. For example, grouping words on a board based on their grammatical properties; watching a video (which is really only using the IWB as a basic projector) and that sort of thing.
Despite these concerns I am excited to explore what interactive whiteboards have to offer and am sure, given their apparent popularity, that we'll be seeing them in the majority of Australian classrooms before very long at all.
Sources:
Durham County Council, (2002) "The Changing Role of the Teacher in using the IWB", Eaton, V., Sunnybrow Public School, http://www.durhamlea.org.uk/resources/index.html?_Action=viewrecord&_Id=1112
Edna, (2009), www.edna.edu.au
Image: Interactive Whiteboards Australia, www.interactivewhiteboards.com.au
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