There has certainly been an ICT revolution, spearheaded by the interactive whiteboard (IWB). Since the government gave £50m to schools in 2004 to invest in IWBs, nine out of ten schools now have them.

IWBs can be used as everything from overhead projectors, to DVD players or Internet browsers. The possibilities offered by this technology are endless and this in itself is daunting for teachers – particularly those who are not particularly technologically minded. Now there are a number of IWB add-ons available in the market – such as Promethean’s Activote, which allow students to respond to questions using an electronic keypad.

But are we in danger of turning lessons into a glorified quiz show? Are children actually learning any more, thanks to all this expensive technology – or could the money be better used in reducing class sizes or employing more teachers?

“So far research in this field has proved somewhat inconclusive,” admits Dr. Aisha Walker a lecturer in ICT in Education for the University of Leeds. “The difficult area is that the person doing the teaching makes a lot of difference. The more engaged the teacher is with the technology, the better the results are. If the teacher is reluctant then the results are not so good.”

Another problem with quantifying the success of ICT in schools lies with classification of the term itself. ICT is an emerging area of education and can mean a wide range of teacher-enhanced technology, anything from the internet-linked whiteboard, to student email contact with a school overseas.

Last year, Becta published the results of a two-year study, which found that IWBs had no discernible impact on children’s test scores. The research was carried out by Newcastle University and covered six local education authorities. It found that pupils in schools with IWBs scored no better in key stage 2 Sats than those in schools without boards. And yet the teachers using the boards were deemed to be using them interactively and 85 per cent of those teachers believed students’ scores would be better as a result.

The report highlighted a number of reasons why the IWBs had failed to improve scores. Mostly these reasons focused on the way in which they are being used by the teacher. Strangely, it appears that some teachers could be trying too hard to present a perfect lesson that they are leaving the students behind.

Steve Higgins, director of Becta’s research project told the Guardian, “There is a tension between direct instruction, which benefits Sats results, and developing understanding over the longer term, where a slower pace and longer responses are needed,” he said. “Possibly the way boards were deployed meant teachers tried to do too much at once.”

It can be frustrating for teachers who are under pressure not to use their IWBs simply as glorified Power Point projectors and it is clear that ongoing training is needed. Promethean Chief Executive Stephen Jury responded to the Becta report saying, “A significant proportion of teachers using IWBs haven’t had a significant amount of professional development. I think we should be seeing leadership (in whiteboard deployment) at a national and LEA level which says, ‘We made the investment in schools, let’s make sure we are getting the most from it’.”

Despite these pressures, many teachers are embracing the possibilities offered by the IWBs. Kit Curtis-Raleigh, aged 36, is a teacher of Science and Drama at The Petersfield School. He finds IWBs particularly useful for illustrating complex concepts in both subjects.

“When I teach Science and I find it very useful for explaining something like how the heart works. This has to be taught in quite a lot of detail at GCSE so it is great to be able to show an animation of exactly how the blood flows around the chambers and how the valves open and close. That would be very difficult to do on a traditional blackboard,” he says.

“I use ICT in the classroom in Drama lessons as well by using video cameras and by showing film clips. We were recently studying To Kill a Mockingbird and it was fantastic to be able to show a courtroom scene from the Gregory Peck film on the large projection screen to illustrate the dynamics to the students. It would be difficult to explain in any other way.”

“I find that when whiteboards are well used the kids are completely switched on and the great thing is that there is no time wasted, I don’t have to turn my back to the class to write anything on the board. Another good thing is that when you have developed a really well-designed lesson using IWBs you can put it on the server for other teachers to use as a resource,” he adds.

The main problem, it seems, is the occasional incident when, for whatever reason, the technology fails. “There is nothing worse than trying to keep a class interested when the IWB is not working,” says a teacher, who wishes to remain nameless. “Of course you should have a second lesson plan up your sleeve for this eventuality but often you don’t and then you have to wing it. That can be extremely stressful. And it’s really difficult to keep a class in order while you are frantically scrolling through menus or clambering around checking wires and cables are plugged in.”

“On the rare occasion that I have to take a paper register, for example, I do reflect that it is actually a very good system,” says Curtis-Raleigh. “But there are advantages to using ICT in the classroom. I find it very useful to target students whose performance is slipping. I can analyse performance spreadsheets in a way that just would not have been possible in the past. I can detect even a slight dip in results from students who are still near the top of the class. That would be very difficult otherwise.”

Since the IWB revolution is still relatively in its infancy, it is understandable that some teachers are still learning how best to make use of it. Most appear to embrace it, with only 15 per cent apparently concerned that it might have a negative impact on the core competencies of writing and maths. There is also evidence that this “technological” approach is keeping more boys interested in lessons, which has to be good news.

But as lesson planning becomes more complex, teachers will need more support. This may be in the form of more training or simply by having increased opportunities to share their experiences. Not all teachers can be expected to confident with ICT and it is important that they are not made to feel embarrassed or ashamed about this. It is difficult enough to engage with a classroom of pupils without the added pressure of introducing seamlessly a series of graphics and video clips in an interactive presentation.

It is also important for teachers to remember that they are doing the teaching and not the IWB. If students are not keeping up, it is necessary to slow down or go over the point even if the next graphic or animation is a real showstopper. If teachers feel they are in control of the technology rather than the other way around, they won’t feel so lost if the equipment fails.

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