3. The major problem in Schools and
educational settings is the need to be able
to effectively teach a diverse group of
learners.
The use of technological advancements
allow the shift of pedagogy to allow
teachers to become more effective in
reaching learners.
4. Who developed the interactive board?
Why was the interactive board developed?
Who can the interactive boards be used with?
http://smarttech.com
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-us
http://www.scholastic.com/interactivewhiteboards
http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/w
hiteboard/lessonplans.html
5. Technology used in an effective manner
Supportive research
Positive feedback from lead users
6. • Effective diffusion of technology
• Effective training and support for first
users
• Positive feedback from teachers
• Research that support the effectiveness of
product
Decision Stage
10. Prices for Interactive Whiteboards vary,
depending on the brand and what is
needed, from $750 for just the whiteboard
to $6,000 for a whole system.
http://www.nextag.com/interactive-
whiteboard/compare-html
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18. January 16, 2007 I learned about
interactive boards at a technology
conference and begun to do further
research.
http://www.presentationtek.com/2006/06/2
2/e-beam-interactive-whiteboard-system/
19. March 2007 I conducted research on this innovation
http://interactivewhiteboardinsights.blogspot.com/2010/0
5/reasons-why-interactive-whiteboards-are.html
20. September 2007 the ebeam interactive
board was presented to our school during
in-service.
http://www.amphi.com/departments/techno
logy/whiteboard/lessonplans.html
21. February 2008 our School bought eight
ebeams and are expected to buy at least
25 more.
http://training.luidia.com/
22. April 2009 the State Biology test showed
that 98% of my students, who were taught
on the ebeam, passed the test.
http://www.e-
beam.com/education/overview.html
Advancements in technology allowed for the development of interactive boards which empowered educators to reach a diver group of learners.
The first interactive board was developed in 1991, by David Martin (Knowlton, 2006). David Martin developed the interactive board as a solution to the problem of plain whiteboards, that were only being used to write on. The plain whiteboards did not have any interactive capabilities, except that students could write on them (Knowlton, 2006). The interactive board can help students stay focused, because they know they might get called on to go up in front of the class to demonstrate something. This alone will cause students to pay attention and learn the information that is being presented. The interactive board can be used with a variety of students in grades K-12, and at technical schools and colleges. It can be used for whole class or small group instruction. The interactive board provides visual, auditory, and interactive learning opportunities. The interactive board has the capabilities of the old overhead projectors and screens, the television set, the blackboard or whiteboard, and the computer combined (Discovery Channel, 2008). There are many websites that provide lesson plans and different ideas of how to use the interactive board.
(a few slides showing students using interactive board’s)
When reviewing the research that support the effectiveness of interactive tools integrated in schools, the idea that students of different academic abilities can learn in a interactive environment
The major point that would influence the effective diffusion of product is the feedback and support for first time users
As more users are introduced to this innovation and are trained on it’s proper use, teachers and instructors would be motivated to purchase this technology.
Students can learn when taught with the learning style that best fit their learning needs. But how can teachers reach a diverse group of learning needs while maintaining academic rigor? The diffusion of interactive boards would allow for academic rigor and could motivate a diverse group of learners to learn and achieve.
These learning needs can be met with interactive boards that allow more students to engage in learning while meeting a diverse group of learning needs. Teachers are able to challenge, interact and inspire students to learn.
David Martin, along with his wife, Nancy Knowlton, were co-founders and partners of the SMART Company. The SMART Company began as a Canadian Company that distributed projectors in the United States. The SMART Company used their money for research and came up with the Interactive board. The interactive board was designed, in the beginning, to act as a computer monitor. The idea of the interactive board did not capture very much attention until 2000, when the Intel Corporation decided to invest in the interactive board. Nancy Knowlton took on the responsibility of marketing and sales. By 2002,one hundred thousand interactive boards had been shipped out to different places. The interactive board can be purchased as a complete package with the whiteboard, projector, and software. There are many different types of interactive boards on the market such as the ebeam, mimio and many others with various prices.
The most effective way for a teacher to engage under achieving learners is to provide opportunities for them to interact with each other in a conducive learning environment where peer teaching and group interaction collaborate with an interactive lesson.
The interactive electronic whiteboard is a colorful tool. Research indicates that students respond to displays where color is employed, and marking can be customized both in the pen and in the highlighter features to display a number of different colors. Width of lines can also be adjusted to add flexible marking choices.
The board can accommodate different learning styles. Tactile learners can benefit from touching and marking at the board, audio learners can have the class discussion, visual learners can see what is taking place as it develops at the board.
All ages of students respond favorably to board use. Interactive whiteboards were originally used in the business world for group meetings. As they have gained popularity in schools, teachers have reported success with the youngest learners through students in academic settings.
Teachers are inspired to integrate this technology in their classes while providing opportunities for learners to achieve.
There are many different types of technologies that allow for variety and cost adjustment, while still providing the necessary learning aids for learners of all ages.
Concerns for development of the interactive board had to do with how slow the innovation process began, however, research that was conducted on the interactive board helped the innovation diffuse. The interactive board mainly targeted big corporate businesses and schools all over the world. Now, small and large businesses, K-12 schools, technical schools, and colleges and universities are being targeted.
I was fascinated at Memphis City school technology conference at the innovation that were presented and the ebeam was a very impressive and cost effective solution to help struggling learners.
I was excited about the opportunity to learn about this technology and begun doing research on this innovation.
I convinced the presenter to do a presentation of the ebeam at our school. This presentation allowed the principal and other key teachers to try out the interactive board for themselves.
Our staff of 103 teachers begun to do rigorous training to prepare to use this innovation in the classroom successfully.
My class was a mixture of 185 students who were regular and special ed. This showed myself and my principal of the possible success with well trained teachers using this technology.
The interactive board diffusion process follows the S-Curve. Sales continue to rise and the rate of adoption continues to go up. The sale and use of Interactive boards are still rising and are diffusing at a fast rate.
The key innovators, in the beginning, were the people from SMART. Nancy Knowlton was the one in charge of product development and she was also responsible for the marketing and sales of the Interactive Boards. Instructors at technical colleges were the early adopters, along with a few lead teachers in some of the schools across the country.
Relative advantage, compatibility are very important when it comes to early adopters in schools. The ability to provide an interactive media, ease of use and, the research that shows gains from using interactive boards are just a few of factors that influence the diffusion of Interactive Boards. The Interactive Boards was an improvement of the whiteboard or dry erase board, which was an improvement of the chalkboard (Wikipedia, 2010).
The key laggards would be the oldest group of teachers, and overwhelmed teachers who have not had very much experience with technology and are close to retirement. Required professional development courses that will include practice using the Interactive Boards will help this group and all groups to feel more adequate at using the Interactive Boards. Since the early adopters help trigger critical mass, anything that will help the early adopters spread the word about Interactive Boards will be positive.
The key change agents will be two teachers in each department, who have volunteered to receive an interactive boards and training on how to use it. The teachers who get the interactive boards will have different roles during this process. The first role will be to show other teachers that they need to use the interactive boards. They will be demonstrating the different things that can be done with the interactive board. The two teachers in each department that receive an interactive board will go through extensive training, so they can hold small sessions to show some of the other teachers the many uses of the interactive board. This is also a role of the change agents. Many of the other teachers will look up to the change agents as knowing about the innovation. They will feel comfortable putting trust with these people about the innovation.
A decentralized approach would work best for the adoption of the interactive board. The interactive board has already shown that the power and control of the innovation has been shared between the different members involved with the diffusion process. The innovation started with one man, who quickly involved several people. The early adopters, which were early and secondary school teachers, helped the diffusion process by showing the benefits or problems of the interactive board with their peers.
The diffusion of the Interactive Whiteboard has already met critical mass in the area of K-12 education. According to sales, it looks like critical mass was reached in 2002.
The need to find something that worked better in a classroom, than the chalkboard or plain whiteboard, led to the development of the interactive board. The interactive board is a way to use technology to enhance the teaching and learning experience. After the interactive board was developed, Nancy Knowlton, the wife of the man who developed the interactive board helped to advertise the innovation. She backed her husband, and along with the company, SMART Technologies, has helped sell millions of interactive board. Nancy Knowlton put all she had into the innovation She was the champion who helped boost the innovation.
The interactive boards is needed in the classrooms of america, so the students can see and use the new technology. According to Robert Henshaw, the use of technology is very important in the classroom, because we are supposed to be preparing students to interact in a world full of technology and the interactive board is a very good way to start doing this.
