A Rationale

• Interactive whiteboards, in the hands of skilful teachers can enhance the quality of teaching and learning from kindergarten upwards.

• When fully integrated into the school’s teaching and learning program they can enhance the appropriateness of the learning and the overall tenor and culture of the school.

• Interactive whiteboards – used wisely – allow a total school community, its students, teachers and parents, to embrace the use of ICT in education in every class. They overcome the structural impediments posed by personal computers.

• Most importantly the boards open the way – like no other technology - for every teachers to use ICT as an integral part of their everyday teaching and for the school to achieve digital take off. For more information go to – Digital Take Off

• Twenty or more years’ investment in personal computer based ICT and education strategies has mostly failed to meet expectations and enhance pedagogy or learning. How many schools do you know where ICT is embraced in every classroom?

• A whole of school IWB strategy can enhance the pedagogy and the effectiveness of every teacher. IWBs finally open the way for 100 percent of teachers to readily harness the power of ICT. Right now most schools still have only 30-40 percent of staff using ICT in their teaching. But almost overnight the Luddites will disappear and all the teachers will use ICT integrally in their teaching.

• IWBs can excite the total school, captivate the students’ interest and generate the kind of ‘buzz’ that all teachers relish.

• The lift provided by the IWBs, when coupled with good practice, can improve student learning.

• Interactive whiteboards are the teaching boards of the twenty first century. They are but a powerful extension of the teaching medium teachers globally have been using for hundreds of years.

• The potential of IWBs in schooling is almost unlimited. We are but at the dawn of their use. As indicated in Digital Hubs the key is quality teachers and setting the educational agenda for the technology developers.

• IWBs can readily take those schools making excellent use of ICT to an even higher plane, by complementing the present offerings and overcoming areas of concern. Indeed one senses the real potential of ICT in schooling will only begin to be realised when all teachers in the school have embraced the use of ICT in their classrooms.

• IWBs can become the ‘digital hub’ that interfaces with a suite of other digital technology, be it pods of desktops, cable TV, the 'Net, PDAs or digital cameras.

• IWBs provide a better educational return on the scarce ICT dollar than personal computers.

• IWBs allow schools to contain, and in time, reduce their ICT budget. One doesn’t need as many units. They don’t need to be up-dated as often, they don’t require as extensive or expensive a network infrastructure as personal computers, or as great a support structure.

• The successful take-ups are characterised by a marked reduction in photocopying costs.

• IWBs soon become a normal part of class operations, dismiss overnight the ‘challenge’ of integrating ICT in teaching and allow teachers to enhance their pedagogy.

• IWBs are a tool that can lift the effectiveness of all teachers, the average and the brilliant, while at the same time reducing their workload.

• The nature of the technology re-emphasises the importance of quality teachers.

• Whole of class focus – and interaction. Teachers, of all types, can use the class approach as the norm, and then move in and out of small and personal group work as the situation determines, using the IWB as their aide.

• Teachers are not obliged to move dramatically from the traditional large group approach to the small group focus required by personal computers

• Graduated take up. Ease of teachers being able to move – when ready – from use of the whiteboard, to the interactive whiteboard and in time to the digital convergence facility.

• Teachers are able to gradually evolve and grow their pedagogy and when they are comfortable move to a more appropriate teaching style.

• Richness of teaching opportunities. This is a largely untapped potential.

• The boards add new life to 'old' software and significantly enhance the new, purpose specific IWB teaching software. Old 'Flash' games take on a new dimension. 'Archaic' teaching software designed for personal computers comes alive on the large, interactive screen, while even the everyday applications like Word and Excel reveal new capabilities.

• More efficient use of time. The ease of use and facility for teachers to readily access, store and an in time edit digital teaching materials from home and work allows teachers to reduce their lesson preparation time.

• High reliability. Little down time. Highly stable software. Reduced number of potential breakdown points and simple remedying of stoppages. Related facility to operate as stand alones, if required.

• Ease of use – by the teachers and the students, from kindergarten upwards.

• Excitement – and joy in use. Impact of the tactile upon both the students and the teachers.

• Immediate impact on all age and types of students and in turn upon their parents.

• Stimulates complementary home use of the Internet.

• Importance of the large visual and audio stimulus upon students with special needs.

• Non-reliance on the use of keyboards – particularly with early childhood students.

Another version of the rationale is included in the The Decision

The Richardson Primary School and an increasing number of UK and US experiences and research studies have shown the positive impact of interactive whiteboards on teaching and learning at all levels of schooling and in a wide range of teaching areas. For more information go to - Current Shortcomings

IWB and Schooling Research

It is increasingly apparent that interactive whiteboards provide a better educational return on the money invested than personal computers. See Cost Comparisons

Interactive whiteboards can be readily used in virtually every area of the curriculum, from Kindergarten to Year 12, with no keyboard skills or knowledge of computers required.

The interactive whiteboards can moreover be readily accommodated in every school organisational structure and in every teaching space from Kindergarten to Year 12.

There is no need for specialist rooms, computer laboratories, extra power points or vast and expensive networks to connect a large number of individual computers.

Most importantly interactive whiteboards can be used with out the loss of time whenever the teacher wants. They soon become part of the ‘normal’ class set up in much the same way as the conventional whiteboard.

The interactive whiteboard can readily be ‘transformed’ in to a large screen, digital convergence facility that can take any digital input from any source.