What effect does the use of computers/interactive whiteboards have on learning of students.

The potential of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) has often been argued in terms of developing more effective demonstrations, presenting a variety of representations and aspects of display more generally. The claim is that they are attractive to both teachers and children, and capture and hold pupils’ attention much more strongly than other classroom resources. One study concluded ‘While our findings support some of the claims being made for IWBs, they do not suggest a fundamental change in teachers’ underlying pedagogy’ (Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975, p. 454). In terms of impact on pupils’ attainment, the White Boards appeared to have a negligible effect (Higgins et al., 2005).

In short, the effects have been negligible, but the potential of IWBs remains untapped. Our guess is that they are used as adjuncts to a teacher’s current teaching, and it is only when teachers change their teaching to optimize the power of the multi-modal methods, that IWB will show a difference. Reviewing the literature on interactive whiteboards” Steve Higgins, Gary Beauchamp, and Dave Miller (Learning, Media and Technology, Vol. 32, No. 3, September 2007, p. 213–225).