Alex Goudge, Marketing Manager at Hitachi Interactive Solutions, assesses the educational benefits provided by interactive whiteboards in embedding creativity into core curriculum subjects in everyday lessons.
With so much technology available to the teaching profession today, it is hard to know what equipment to choose, how it will benefit students and what advantages can be proven as a result of the purchases. Interactive whiteboards have now been in the technological limelight for some time, catching the attention of the DfES and leading to an initial government investment of £25 million to equip a large number of schools in the UK with the boards. Embedding e learning products across the curriculum is a crucial factor in enhancing the learning environment, and it can accelerate children’s progress in the classroom in a number of ways. Children have grown up in a digital age with computers and games consoles and they find them fun, which is why they find ICT incredibly engaging. Interactive whiteboards have a number of advantages to offer for the classroom.
The teacher and all of the pupils in the class can see not only what is projected onto the whiteboard but also any additions made with whiteboard markers an electronic pen. Used in this way, the whiteboard functions in much the same way as a traditional blackboard – but with the possibility to use colour, interactive presentations and video clips. The interactive whiteboard software, supported by teaching resources on CD-ROM and/or resources available on the Internet, provides the teacher with access to a wide range of materials and resources to support instruction.
In The Curriculum.