Interactive whiteboards in education

Since the introduction of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) into schools and their widespread uptake, there has been much interest in the apparent efficacy of their use as a teaching tool. Among the purported benefits are increased academic achievement and increased engagement. This program of research includes a scoping overview of the nature of literature published on IWBs and a pilot project examining the effect of an IWB on student engagement. This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter one is an introduction. Chapter two consists of a survey of the extant literature, including both academic and grey literature, on IWBs in school settings. Chapter three consists of a pilot study with students with disability comparing rates of engagement during a group activity conducted with and without an IWB. Chapter four is a concluding summary. The literature survey covered 739 articles that were then categorised in terms of source and type. Results of this survey indicated a dearth of empirical data, with 55% of articles being grey literature, 151 articles (20%) reported qualitative research and 56 articles (8%) reported quantitative research of which only 23 were experimental studies. This lack of empirical research highlighted the need for investigation into this area. A pilot study was conducted with the research question: Do interactive whiteboards increase engagement in whole-group lessons for students with autism spectrum disorder and mild intellectual disability? The single-case alternating treatment research was conducted with two conditions, one using an IWB, and one using paper-based materials. All other variables were held constant. Data reported in the study included both active and passive on and off task behaviours of four participants, with a dual diagnosis of autism spectum disorder and mild intellectual disability. Results showed an increase in on task behaviour during the non-IWB condition for two of the four participants. There was no marked difference for the remaining two participants. In this study, many additional features of the IWB were not used and further research could explore the effects of adding colour, animation and sound.