The obsession with interactive white boards

Why is there such a love affair with interactive white boards? Soon after the PQ government was elected this fall, it announced a moratorium on the previous government’s plan to put an interactive white board in every classroom across the province.

I say this is a good thing.
IWBs are expensive and do very little to help students develop competencies.

So why the love affair? It’s an easy way to say, yes, we are integrating technology into our classrooms without really changing much. It integrates tech and maintains the status quo of teacher-centric classrooms.

Is that the source of the obsession, then? They make us look like we are using technology to meet the needs of our students but really they are meeting the needs of educators who are afraid or don’t know how to give up the central role as teacher in their classrooms?

What do you think?

1 Comment

  • Wendy says:

    I’ve found interactive white boards sometimes useful…when they are working! They are especially helpful when showing how to navigate software required for research or assignments. The same effect could be achieved simply with an LCD projector of the teacher’s computer; however, the interactive white board places the teacher (usually) at the front of the class, watching students’ reactions, whereas the teacher’s desk and computer are often situated away from the front of the class. To go further, the technology that really is helpful to me is Document Reader. Love it! Great for showing student handwritten work and going through a text together.

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