There are a few topics that I can bring up with one of my colleagues that will get her going with little effort, and Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) are one of them. They are the tool of the status quo in education and do little more that keep the teacher in the front of the room and offer an institution a possible PR push to show that they have the latest and “greatest“.

There’s a great article in EdWeek titled – Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards – that really did a good job detailing why these devices fail to meet the classroom. Below is a small piece from that article, but one that I believe sums things up very well:

My biggest IWB beef, though, is that they are poorly aligned with the vision of instruction that most people claim to believe in. Ask a principal what the best classrooms look like and she’s likely to say something like this:

“In the best classrooms, students are involved in creating knowledge together. They’re studying topics, designing experiments, collaborating with peers, and challenging one another’s preconceived notions. While the teacher is always present to guide and to facilitate, the students are empowered to discover and to grow independently.”

Sounds great, doesn’t it? If we could turn control of learning over to students, we’d probably see motivation and academic growth levels rise all at once. Classrooms would become innovative places that students were drawn to instead of the snooze palaces that they seem to be for so many kids today.But if those are the outcomes we most desire, then why are we wasting money on interactive whiteboards—tools that do little to promote independent discovery and collaborative work? Sure, you could argue that when used as an instructional center, whiteboards become more interactive, but that is one really expensive center, don’t you think?

via Teacher Magazine: Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards.

The other piece I think that speaks to how ineffective IWB are comes directly from Smart themselves. Take a look at this video and watch (thanks Will Richardson – @willrich45 – http://weblogg-ed.com/) how much of the teacher’s time is spent in the front of the room and how the students are sitting in their seats watching the teacher or the one lucky student that gets to actually touch the board.

I know there are people out there that love IWB’s and find them incredible tools, but I would ask those people to really look at how they are using them. Are they helping you deliver content or are they really helping students learn in better ways? Are you using them to simply post notes online to Moodle or a web site? How is it changing learning?

I’m interested in your thoughts as is my colleague…