Before interactive whiteboards were installed at Southland Girls High, Stacey Shaw didn't really like science very much. Now, it's her favourite class and her sights are set on becoming a doctor. If the words 'interactive whiteboard' (IWB) don't make you want to jump up and down and shout, you're not alone.

 

But once you use one, you will probably be tempted to get out of your chair and become more involved in what's going on in class. IWBs look pretty much like regular whiteboards but they're connected by a data projector to a computer. Images and words on the computer

 

screen can then be displayed on the whiteboard and, by using a special 'pen', you can write on the whiteboard; words and drawings can be saved, deleted, turned into italics or have their colours changed - just like on a computer.Robyn Gardin, a science teacher at Southland Girls High, explains that, as the teacher, she can control what is displayed on the board and the pen is like right- and left-clicking. "There is fantastic software that comes with the boards," says Mrs Gardin. "It allows you to do all sorts of things: write things that can be turned into text, shift and drag-and- drop or move images around on the whiteboard.

 

It's very seamless. I can have a link on the page that I touch with the pen and it links immediately to a website, video clip, PowerPoint presentation or word document. I can link to any document and that makes lessons work more smoothly.

 

BLOOD FLOW CHARTS

 

But it's not just the teacher who gets to have all the fun. To imagine how IWBs work, think about a recent class that Mrs Gardin was teaching where Stacey Shaw was a student. The topic was the human heart. With an image of a heart on the IWB, Stacey, or another student, could go to the front of the class and label the different chambers, either by writing the words on or by dragging labels that Mrs Gardin had written at the bottom of the page.

 

The next student, for example, could move the labels around or change their colours. Another student might come to the IWB next and trace the flow of blood through the heart. Then Mrs Gardin could link to a video of how blood flows. "On a normal whiteboard," says Mrs Gardin, "the students aren't doing anything; they're just looking at a drawing of a heart that the teacher has sketched out.

 

This becomes more engaging. All the students and the teacher interact with it and, because it is so big and visual and has so many features, the whole class can be involved. When you've got a small computer, only one or two people can work on it." It sounds like fun, but it's also good for you! When you engage in the class, you tend to learn more.

 

"Mrs Gardin downloaded games on heart topics" says Stacy. "It was amazing - every-one in the class really got into it and those people who don't normally get into it did. And everyone was learning heaps."Stacey explains that students can also use a mini-board at their desk and what you write on the mini-board shows up on the main board. But mostly, she says, her classes used the special pen and each student had turns going up to the board and writing on it. "Most of the teachers prefer to use the pen because it gets everyone involved and the whole class can participate. It's really fun and the cool thing is you may not realise it, but you're learning lots, as well."

 

READY FOR NCEAS

 

ome of the cool games make different noises when the right or wrong answer is chosen; other programmes might use timers.

 

Word finds, crossword puzzles and other language games can be played in English or foreign language classes. For maths, says Mrs Gardin, the board comes with a big protractor, compass and ruler. Students (or the teacher) can measure angles, draw circles or figure out stuff like the volume of a cone.

 

It's all easy to do and, says Mrs Gardin, you can show the steps required and then save it all. Teachers can have lessons prepared and use them again, and anything you write on the board can be saved for the future, which is really helpful when it's time for revision for NCEA. Mrs Gardin has been teaching science for 30 years and says the technology of IWBs has made the biggest difference to her teaching.

 

Other technologies - like copy machines and individual computers - have been great, but the interactive whiteboards have made the biggest difference for learning. Part of that impact might be because IWBs provide an alternative learning tool for students who have trouble with traditional learning. "Some people don't like learning from textbooks or just from straight words," says Stacey. "They prefer images and it was really good for those visual learners.

 

I know in exams and tests, people could really visualise the diagram and then draw it really well."IWBs can also be set up to interact with IWBs in other parts of the country or world - kind of like videoconferencing. Students in Southland can interact with another class in Kaitaia, for instance. They can play games, label hearts or diagram a sentence and students in both classrooms can be interacting with the whiteboard and see what each other is doing.

 

SCORES IMPROVE

 

While everyone agrees the boards are fun to use, there has only been anecdotal research to show that the boards improve student learning. Last year Mrs Gardin was one of nine teachers to conduct research to find out - scientifically - the effectiveness of the boards. She ran two classes in parallel and pre-tested both on a certain subject (how the human body works).

 

One class she taught with the IWB, the other without. At the end of the lessons, she tested everyone again and the results showed that the class taught with the IWB learned more. Then she switched teaching techniques and used the IWB to teach about natural disasters to the class that didn't have the whiteboard in the first topic and used traditional teaching techniques for the class that had the IWB in the first project. She did the same pre- and post-testing. Guess what? Once again the class with the IWB learned more.

 

"Technology is really important for today's students," says Mrs Gardin. "If we're going to engage with them, we have to do it at their interest level. They are technologically and visually interactive, and we need to provide that in the classroom. We need really cool stuff at school!"Stacey agrees. "It's made a huge difference to my learning. It's so amazing, I love science. It's my favourite subject now and it wasn't before."

 

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