The integration of interactive whiteboards into classrooms at a well-resourced high school in South Africa

Abstract

This report describes a case study, in which the researcher investigated the integration of electronic interactive whiteboards (IWBs) into classrooms at a well-resourced South African high school. Consistent with the findings of other studies conducted to date, learners and teachers at the school generally believe that IWB technology enhances various aspects of the teaching-learning process. The frequency and nature of IWB use across the school was found to vary greatly between subject departments and from one user to the next within subject departments. In comparison to IWB use in schools overseas, as reported in the literature, general IWB utilisation was found to be relatively infrequent and superficial in nature, with only the basic features and capabilities being widely utilised. In terms of the progression models that have been proposed for IWB integration, it appears that, overall, this school has not advanced beyond the initial stage of integration described in each of the respective models. This study attempted to determine why such a well-resourced school has not progressed further with the integration of IWBs in the five years that have passed since IWB technology was first introduced there, in spite of the fact that the teachers appear to recognise the value of the technology and express the desire to improve their use of the IWB. Results suggest that the major factors responsible for retarding progress are inadequate training and the lack of time available for teachers to explore the potential of IWB technology and build up a bank of useful resources. These issues appear to be linked to inadequate research and strategic planning on the part of the school management team. In conclusion, this report proposes a strategy for the integration of information and communications technology (ICT) into South African high schools, with a view to promoting the integration of IWBs in the long term. The essence of the proposal is that teachers should make use of a data projector, which projects its image on to a conventional whiteboard writing surface. This approach would allow teachers to take advantage of the visual features of ICT they most readily recognise as beneficial when they first use IWB technology. The aim of this strategy would be to encourage teachers to improve their ICT skills and grow in confidence in the use of ICT in their lessons, while minimising the cost involved in allowing them to do so. Copyright