There are a few different companies that have these interactive whiteboards. A few are SMART, Promethean, and Mimio. No matter where the board comes from they most likely feature video, image, and lesson libraries. A good place to find resources for your board is a website called Promethean Planet. These boards have many features. You can highlight, color, hide and reveal photos or text, drag and drop, and import pictures. These boards give students a chance to participate and interact with the class using the board. They also help the teacher to keep lessons organized and interesting. It's easier to keep your students focused when they are able to come up and participate using the board.
A cool thing that you can now get with the Interative Whiteboard is a student response system. This gives teachers the ability to give her students surveys and polls. The students will have handheld devices that they can respond to the survey or poll with. Their answers are then immediately posted up on the board. This lets students who normally wouldn't talk or answer questions have a voice in the classroom.
This tool is very good at helping teachers to engage their students and do something interesting. With all of the hands on things this board can do students will really be able to stay engaged and focused on the lesson. The problem with the board being able to do so much is that teachers do not take the time to learn all of the features and simply use it as a projector. The board can do so many interactive things and teachers should really take the time to figure out all that can be done. Teacher training is so necessary if you want to use these boards to their full potential!
