Yet another justification for IWB

Brooks-Young, Susan. (2006). Numonics Interactive Whiteboard Makes History Come Alive. Numonics Corporation. Retrieved April 9, 2008 from http://www.interactivewhiteboards.com/SmartSite/FileImages/case%20studies/CaseStudy_2006NorthfieldCommunityMS.pdf

So I was going to focus on sites to use in my classroom with my interactive whiteboard, but I came across this case study that just once again gives support for the use of of interactive whiteboards in classrooms. This was a case study of the use of an interactive whiteboard in an 8th grade social studies class. The teacher created powerpoints ahead of time and incorporated activities such as videos, virtual fieldtrips, and games into the lessons to liven them up. She also used the Inspiration program to create brainstorming webs that the whole class could complete on the IWB. Using her IWB, the teacher was able to display primary sources from places such as the Library and Congress. Now, you don't need an IWB to display this sort of information, just a projector, but the benefit of having an IWB is that the teacher can manipulate, highlight, and zoom in on important text all from the board and not from sitting behind the computer. This is another example of kids not having to do the same old thing day in and day out. The teacher also pointed out the important fact that she goes back over her lessons year after year to add additional features to her lessons. In turn, the lessons become richer over time.
One of the downfalls for this school is that it only had one interactive whiteboard for the whole middle school. This meant teachers had to share and the board had to moved. This creates alot of additional prep time. I am very fortunate to have my board mounted and connected at all times. It also means that I can use my board everyday and not have to plan around other people's schedules for the board. I know I wouldn't use technology nearly as much if it meant I had to check it out and set it up everyday!