Why Interactive Whiteboards Should Be Used in the Classroom

From very young ages, children are being exposed to all kinds of technology, and are even able to opperate it on their own. I remember how surprised I was when my little 3 year old cousin picked up her mother's iPhone and started playing games on it without any assistance. While this kind of behavior used to catch an adults attention, people are no longer surprised when children of this generation, known as "Digital Natives," are engaged in technology and crave its use.


It's time to capitalize on how Digital Natives think, and begin to use technology in the classroom more and more. I believe that using interactive whiteboards, aka smart boards, in the classroom brings us one step closer to captivating the minds of students, and here's why:

They promote 21st Century Learning

The world is changing, and our students need to learn in environments that relate to the world as it is today. In the 21st Century, computers and smartphones are the way of life, and things will continue to become more and more technological.  

They motivate students to learn

In my current Level 1 Teaching experience in a 4th grade classroom where I observe the teacher and begin to understand how the classroom is run, I have found that there are some students who are very unmotivated when they are asked to write on paper, but when they are asked to use a computer to do something, they are all for it. This is one piece of evidence that shows how much more interested students are in learning when they get to use technology.

It is a great tool for teaching

Through the use of smart boards, teachers are able to put their computer screen up in front of the class and write on the screen using an interactive pen. This allows teachers to create programs online, and use the touch features to manipulate the board. This leads to a clearer presentation of various activities, and gets kids excited about writing their thoughts on the board as well.

Here are some articles I read that support my thinking!

Pros & Cons of using a Smartboard | eHow

Image from: Interactive Whiteboards