Interactive whiteboards can have a positive impact on student learning and achievement in three key ways: 1) They enhance learning by allowing for more visual and hands-on learning; 2) They increase student engagement through interactive lessons that keep students motivated; 3) Research shows that interactive whiteboards can boost standardized test scores and cause students using them to outperform peers without access to the technology.
For this presentation, I will be addressing four main areas about why our school district should purchase interactive whiteboards for our faculty. First, I will briefly outline what whiteboards are, second, I will highlight the relationship between interactive whiteboard use and enhancement of teaching and learning, thirdly, I will be addressing how whiteboards have shown to increase engagement of students, and finally, I will address the question of whether or not whiteboards can increase student achievement.
Whiteboards have been around for about 10 years, and research is now starting to show a direct correlation to use of whiteboards in the classroom to teacher’s developing better lesson plans, students being more motivated, more student participation and more engaged students due to the whiteboard’s use of visuals to enhance lesson plans.
Interactive whiteboards have shown in studies that both teachers and students benefit from their use. Data such as teacher questionnaires indicate that teachers have found their students to be more engaged and motivated in the classrooms due to the use of whiteboards, and teachers have also commented on being more organized and having more time for other things and that whiteboards have changed the way they teach, and they have been able to differentiate their instruction more after using whiteboards.
The third main point of this presentation that I will address is the correlation between interactive whiteboard use in the classroom to student motivation and engagement. There have been studies that have shown that teachers who use whiteboards in their classrooms receive more positive feedback from their students. Teachers who use whiteboards also have found their students more engaged and more motivated. Also, the use of visuals that whiteboards can provide are especially helpful in mathematics according to some research available.
The final point of my presentation on the benefits of interactive whiteboards has to do with what effect can whiteboards have on student performance and achievement? There is research that does show that students have an increased attention level in the classroom, which directly can result in higher achievement. Also, studies also show that students learning in a classroom with a whiteboard can score higher on tests, especially in mathematics. Finally, there is some data that indicates that students who learn with a whiteboard may outperform students who do not learn with a whiteboard.
In summary, I believe that purchasing interactive whiteboards by our school district is important for a variety of reasons, with the main three being, they help teachers be more innovative with their lesson planning, secondly, whiteboard use has shown that they can lead to more student engagement in the classroom, and lastly, research available has shown that if used properly, whiteboards can lead to higher student achievement and performance.