Spring 2010 • Focus on Elementary

Teaching With the Interactive Whiteboard:

An Engaging Way To Provide Instruction
by Hani Morgan
University of Southern Mississippi

A t Sumrall Elementary School, in Mississippi, many

teachers are thrilled with the interactive whiteboard
(IWB). “It is very motivating,” said one 4th-grade math
have about the whiteboard are similar to what researchers
are finding about this technological tool. The purpose of
this article is to discuss the benefits and limitations of the
teacher, who mentioned the benefits of teaching with interactive whiteboard as a means to promote learning.
technology because today’s students are so accustomed
to technology in their daily lives. Many teachers at this Emergence of the Interactive
school use the Promethean board, a type of interactive Whiteboard in Educational Settings
whiteboard, which is becoming very popular in schools The interactive whiteboard generally consists of a com-
across the United States. The vice principal at Sumrall puter, a data projector, and an electronic screen (Wood &
commented that one parent was so impressed with the Ashfield, 2008). The IWB was designed for office set-
whiteboard that he offered to buy one for the school so his tings, and has not been used in schools until recently. In
child could use it. educational settings, it was first used in higher education,
The use of the whiteboard does in fact seem to engage and primary schools began to consider its use in the late
students for a variety of reasons. One teacher at Sum- 1990s (Higgins, Beauchamp, & Miller, 2007). One of the
rall Elementary mentioned that she has tried teaching reasons this new technological tool began to be considered
both with and without it and noticed a positive effect on for use in educational settings is because it was identified
students when she used it. Teaching with the whiteboard as a way to integrate a wide range of multimedia resources,
allows teachers to deliver instruction in an alternative for- such as written text, sound, pictures, software packages,
mat, decreasing monotony for both teachers and students. video clips, CD-ROMs, Internet images and websites, into
The interactive whiteboard also allows teachers to connect classroom instruction (Ekhaml, 2002; Glover & Miller,
to the Internet and project images on virtually any topic, a
great benefit to visual learners. continued on page 4 . . .
Students learn how to use new technology skills or
sharpen their existing skills through this new hardware.
They seem eager to come up to the front of the class to
use the whiteboard. Some teachers encourage students to
use a device similar to a mouse that allows them to record
their answers without leaving their seats. This allows all
students to participate simultaneously and gives teachers
immediate feedback about which questions are difficult
and which are easy for the class, as well as data about who
is answering correctly and incorrectly.
In a reading and English 5th-grade class at Sumrall El-
ementary, a teacher uses the whiteboard to introduce new
vocabulary words and show images on the IWB that match
the new words. Later, she flips to a different page on the
whiteboard to guide students to do some work involv-
ing synonyms and antonyms using the new words. This
teacher is very happy with the way the whiteboard engages
the class, but notes that it can be misused and needs to be
combined with other effective teaching skills. The views Students at Sumrall Elementary School
that teachers and administrators at Sumrall Elementary enjoy using the whiteboard.

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Focus on Elementary • Spring 2010

. . . continued from page 3

2002). It also provides a synchronous transmission mode, (Greenwell, 2002; Solvie, 2004; Weimer, 2001) and task
allowing two-way interaction between the student or engagement (Beeland, 2002; Hodge & Anderson, 2007).
teacher and the medium, thus enhancing student engage- Edwards, Hartnell, and Martin (2002) explain that the use
ment (Bryant & Hunton, 2000). The board is large and of interactive games not only increases students’ enjoy-
touch-sensitive (Smith, Higgings, Wall, & Miller, 2005); ment in learning but also typically results in more accurate
students can write on the board, using fingers, hands, student responses. One study on math instruction (Cle-
and markers to demonstrate their understanding (Solvie, mens, Moore, & Nelson, 2001) concluded that significant
2007). It also can be very useful when teaching math as a academic gains and positive attitudes resulted from using
result of its ability to let the user draw straight lines, circles, one type of IWB called the SMART board. Marzano
triangles, and squares (Gage, 2002). (2009) reported in another study that interactive white-
Many countries, such as the United Kingdom, United boards led students to a 16 percentile-point gain in student
States, Australia, and Canada, are enthusiastic about the achievement. Knight, Pennant, and Piggott (2005) found
whiteboard’s potential in enhancing teaching and learn- that for some children, the interactive whiteboard seems to
ing; consequently, they are spending millions to buy this contribute to increased self-esteem and allows chances for
technology for their school systems. In 2004, for example, pupils to revisit images of prior learning.
England had already spent 25 million pounds on IWBs Most of the research that has been done on IWBs focuses
(Wood & Ashfield, 2008). England has been experienc- on teaching literacy and math, although the interactive
ing a trend toward whole-class teaching recently, especially whiteboard can be used for all subjects. Solvie (2007)
in mathematics. Reynolds and Farrell (1996) found that found that continued use of the IWB was especially useful
the top-performing countries in mathematics were using a for modeling literacy tasks and noted that it can simplify
significant amount of direct whole-class teaching. The en- lesson preparation and navigation to specific parts of a
thusiasm about IWBs was likely triggered in part by their lesson. Forrest (2005) wrote about his experience teaching
potential to improve whole-class instruction. math with an IWB and how this teaching tool has become
indispensable for him. He also described how pupils learn
Academic Benefits of Interactive Whiteboards quickly to use the IWB’s pen. Using the pen on the IWB
Many teachers and administrators seem to be enthusiastic offers students the chance to practice and manipulate text.
about using the whiteboard. One study described how stu- Preston and Mowbray (2008) cite research explaining how
dent teachers see the potential importance of using interac- interactive whiteboards were used successfully with kin-
tive whiteboard technology for children, even when they dergarten children to enhance student learning in science.
have limited experience with this technological application IWBs are reported to be a flexible tool for all age groups
themselves (Kennewell & Morgan, 2003). Levy (2002) from kindergarten through higher education (Smith et al.,
reported on how the use of whiteboards allows teachers 2005).
to easily address differentiated learning needs of students.
For example, one teacher effectively split the IWB into Multimodal Teaching and Diversity
three screens; each was used to develop a different com- Researchers often advocate for the use of teaching styles
prehension level corresponding to students’ understand- that match the learning styles of students (Collins &
ing (Miller & Glover, 2002). The research of Smith et al. Cook, 2000; Glover & Law, 2002). Many researchers
(2005) described how the IWB’s capacity to flip back to (e.g., Gardner, 1993; Jewitt, 2002; Watson & De Geest,
review material helped a primary teacher assist lower ability 2005) emphasize the importance of providing instruction
groups. Bennett and Lockyer (2008) found that the IWB by using a variety of modalities. One of the reasons IWBs
allowed teachers to model Internet research skills and that seem to lead to academic improvement is their ability to
it led to a reduction in lesson preparation time, while al- provide instruction that appeals to visual, auditory, and
lowing more opportunities for teachers to prepare lessons tactile learners (Beeland, 2002). Teachers can use pictures
from home. or video on the IWB to enhance visual learning. Billard
In addition to the ways in which interactive whiteboards (2002) noted that the IWB’s large screen provides a visual
facilitate lesson planning and differentiated instruction, framework that matches many children’s preferred learn-
teachers’ and administrators’ enthusiasm for this technol- ing style, that using visual aids on the IWB helped guide
ogy is likely also based, in part, on student responses. children to place events in chronological order, and that
Research on IWBs has documented how this learning tech- this form of instruction also improved students’ writing.
nology often leads to an increase in learners’ motivation Poems, songs, music, and speeches can enhance auditory

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 Spring 2010 • Focus on Elementary

learning, and the whiteboard is a good forum for encour- both understand the potential that IWBs have for learning,
aging such expression. Permitting students to interact and to provide effective instruction using this new technol-
with the board through movement helps meet the needs of ogy. Without such training, “It is unlikely that teachers
tactile learners. will either be aware of or be able to exploit the potential
In addition to providing instruction geared toward affordances of IWBs” (Armstrong et al., 2005, p. 467).
various learning styles, interactive whiteboards also lend Although IWBs can reduce lesson preparation time (Smith
themselves to instruction in each of the various intelligenc- et al., 2005), it takes an investment of time for teachers
es identified by Howard Gardner (1993): logical-math- and students to become skillful in using IWBs effectively
ematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, (Ball, 2003; Glover & Miller, 2001). If the IWB is used
interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Nieto and Bode (2008), as a presentational tool only, the academic gains resulting
researchers on culturally responsive teaching, discuss the from interaction will be lost (Armstrong et al., 2005).
likelihood that many members of a given culture will be Once teachers have received initial training in the use of
more advanced in one intelligence over members of a dif- IWBs, they also must receive ongoing support to maximize
ferent culture as a result of social, political, and geographic their potential. Teachers will need help to find appropri-
circumstances, making IWBs an appropriate teaching tool ate software and to match it to different types of learning
for children from diverse cultural backgrounds. Providing tasks. This requires an investment of both time and money
instruction through interactive whiteboards that empha- and is often difficult to provide as a result of the rapid pace
sizes many intelligences, rather than just one or two, will of technological change (Goodison, 2002). Ongoing tech-
likely create a more democratic setting for all students. nical support also must be provided for teachers, because it
“has been shown to be a vital component” in any informa-
Limitations and Concerns tion and communication technologies network, “yet [such
As a result of the boom in technology in the recent past support] appears to be in a state of underdevelopment”
and studies that have shown the value of providing mul- (Hall & Higgins, 2005, p. 113).
timodal instruction, such researchers as Higgins, Beau-
champ, and Miller (2007) state that the use of IWBs could Conclusion
possibly be “the most significant change in the classroom The interactive whiteboard seems to be generating a great
learning environment in the past decade” (p. 221). How- deal of enthusiasm among educators, and for good reason.
ever, the enthusiasm that many educators have for this It appears to motivate and engage students, and these are
instructional tool needs to be balanced with understand- vital components of teaching and learning. Another aspect
ing of its limitations. Educators need to be aware that of the whiteboard appreciated by students and teachers is
relatively little research has been done on the interactive its capacity to help teachers deliver instruction in a variety
whiteboard (Jones, 2004; Marzano, 2009), and that some of ways. Although many benefits may be derived from
of the existing research on the value of IWBs is conflicting. using this technology, teachers need to remember that the
Greiffenhagen (2000) states that “their educational poten- whiteboard is only a tool and does not replace good teach-
tial has yet to be demonstrated” (p. 1) through empirical ing. Its value is dependent upon teachers who are already
studies. competent in using effective teaching strategies.
Higgins et al. (2007) noted that although teachers and If its use is not based on effective teaching methods or
students may be motivated as result of using IWBs, this used to promote the interaction it was designed for, the
does not necessarily lead to an increase in student achieve- whiteboard will lead to little or no learning. Quashie
ment. Additionally, some research indicates that although (2009) stated that “it is possible for the IWB to be used in
many educators are enthusiastic, there remains uncertainty a way where it is not interactive at all,” and that it is the
“as to whether such enthusiasm is being translated into ef- responsibility of teachers “to make their lessons interactive
fective and purposeful practice” (Smith et al., 2005, p. 99). in order to engage and motivate their students” (p. 38).
Martin (2007) also speculated as to whether educators IWBs also may not be the most appropriate tool for teach-
were being overzealous about the use of the whiteboard. ing all concepts. For example, Martin (2007) reported that
Based on her research, she concluded that this interactive using the whiteboard in whole-class writing lessons is not
technology is likely to increase student motivation and necessarily the best way to teach students to write. Teach-
involvement, but its impact on learning is less obvious. ers who embrace this technology must judiciously choose
For IWBs to be successful in promoting learning and when and how to use it to enhance student learning and
enhancing achievement, teachers need to be trained to
continued on page 6 . . .
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Focus on Elementary • Spring 2010

. . . continued from page 5

Glover, D., & Law, S. (2002). Improving learning: Professional
practice in secondary schools. Buckingham, UK: Open Univer-
achievement. sity Press.
The effect of the whiteboard on student learning is dif- Glover D., & Miller D. (2001). Running with technology: The
ficult to establish, since there are few, if any, rigorous stud- pedagogic impact of the large scale introduction of interactive
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et al., 2005). Little is known about whether teachers are Technology for Teacher Education, 10, 257-276.
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the effectiveness of this instructional tool. Further research tive whiteboards into schools in the United Kingdom: Lead-
is needed to understand how this technology, which has ers, led, and the management of pedagogic and technological
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. . . continued from page 2
on a daily basis watching flag football. There is still shortens instructional time slightly, the benefits of play
some fussing and a little rule-bending here and there, but time carry over to the classroom to contribute to student
nothing like before. It’s amazing what a difference a few success.
rules and an actively engaged teacher can make. Now,
not only is football fun to play; it is also a pleasure to References
watch. Henley, J., McBride J., Milligan J., & Nichols, J. (n.d.). Rob-
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of pace” (as cited in Jarrett et al., 2001). A brief stretch Jarrett, O. S., Maxwell, D. M., Dickerson, C., Hoge, P., Da-
and a water break or a vigorous run around the football vies, G., & Yetley, A. (2001). Impact of recess on classroom
field can work wonders for the student whose struggles behavior: Group effects and individual differences. The
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the next task. Educators are taught to look for a child’s ing healthy child development and maintaining strong
strengths and weaknesses, and to accentuate the strengths parent-child bonds. American Academy of Pediatrics, 119(1),
while remediating the weaknesses. Academics are not 182-191.
every child’s strength. Play time gives them an opportu- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2007). Recess rules: Why
nity to experience success in a different way, leading to the undervalued playtime may be America’s best intervention
increased self-confidence. for healthy kids and healthy schools. Retrieved from www.
According to Taras (2005), physical activity provides rwjf.org/goto/sports4kids.
many benefits, including improved circulation, increased Taras, H. (2005). Physical activity and student performance
blood flow to the brain, and raised levels of endorphins. at school. Journal of School Health, 75(6), 214-8.
All of these tend to reduce stress, improve mood, and
induce a calming effect, and perhaps they improve Jennifer Harris has taught 3rd and 4th grade for six
academic achievement as well. Eliminating recess from years. As much as she loves teaching math and reading,
the daily school schedule is a huge mistake. Even if it her favorite part of the day is recess.