While educators have always realized the importance of whole-class teaching, since the introduction of No Child Left Behind, more schools are actively searching for tools to help them reach every student in the classroom.
Many schools have experienced the benefits of using interactive whiteboards to captivate the attention of all students in the classroom, regardless of their learning styles. But teachers are often limited by the rudimentary software included with their IWB.
All the whiteboard 'bells and whistles' options will delight 'tech-savvy' educators, but may frustrate the other excellent teachers in your school. Teachers welcome interactive whiteboard technology, but they need software that is appropriate for the subject and skill level of their students.
The use of traditional software with an interactive whiteboard creates more challenges. Designed for use on individual PCs or Macs, these software programs may not allow students in the back of the classroom to clearly see all elements on the board. More importantly, the software may not be designed to involve all students in the lesson and encourage them to participate in class discussions.
Forward thinking software publishers have realized the need for special applications designed with interactive whiteboards and whole-class teaching in mind. These publishers have designed their applications to:
- Be compatible with all interactive whiteboards available in the market.
- Have all elements of the screen easily viewed from any location in the classroom.
- Pose questions and provide tools that will actively involve all students in class discussions.
- Make it easy to reach controls and tools while working at the interactive whiteboard.
- Provide whiteboard tools and high-quality visuals that can be used across the curriculum.
