Effective Use - Key Word is Effective

"As is the case with all powerful tools, teachers must use interactive whiteboards thoughtfully, in accordance with what we know about good classroom practice." Robert J. Marzano

In Engaging Learners with Interactive Whiteboards (O'Bannon & Anderson, 2013), the research discussed on interactive whiteboards seems to have conflicting results on whether interactive whiteboards affect student achievement.  The 2009 study by Marzano and Haystead may inadvertently have shed light on why the studies are so divided.  This study attributed one finding that a portion of the teachers saw more successful outcomes without the boards as the result of incorrectly using the boards themselves.  With this observation comes a question that needs to be considered with each previous and later study: what did researchers use to determine what qualifies as using and not using the interactive whiteboard in the classroom?  

Using an interactive whiteboard can be defined loosely enough to include merely projecting static images as though it were only a screen, or tightly enough that it includes criteria based on the extent to which the students interact with the board.  The Marzano and Haystead study indicated student response systems, graphics and videos, and reinforcer properties, all features of the interactive whiteboards, were connected to increased student achievement.  This finding seems logical when also considering what current research says about student learning in general and the need for students to be active learners in the classroom.  These three features of interactive whiteboards require a degree of active participation from students as part of the use of the board and facilitation of learning.  Using interactive whiteboards as just a surface on which to project makes the student a passive learner that does little to no engaging with the content of the lesson.  Technology or no, passive learning does not result in high student achievement.  

One way to support the effective use of interactive whiteboards is to provide professional development opportunities for teachers that train in both how to use the board and software itself and how to incorporate its use into their teaching practices, as has been emphasized by Hall and Higgins in 2005.  It is not enough that teachers know how to use interactive whiteboards; they must also know how to include the use of the boards in their lesson planning and execution in effective ways. Interactive whiteboards offer the opportunity for students to be engaged in content and learning rather than just exposed to it, making for more meaningful classroom learning experiences.

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