This is quite a neat site the page lists a series of smartboard resources for various subject areas. Its worth a visit and a forage through the selection. The resources range across the school spectrum from K to 13 and cover the curriculum too. They have divided it intoideas, lesson plans and websites.

Some of the websites have been moved so anything  to www. kented.org.uk should use this URL

http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/ict/IWB/index.htm

The illuminations website is very interesting and well worth a visit

http://illuminations.nctm.org/

• control
• interaction
• integration
• collaboration

In this rubric she has covered everything we would love to see in our use of Interactive whiteboards in the classroom.  An excellent effort and well worth reading and using.
iwb_use_rubric.pdf

I love what she has done here for teachers, so I have had simplified it for use with students. For this rubric I would place it at the level of Applying on Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.

iwb-taxonomy-students.pdf

• prepare presentations with increased functionality
• use the spotlight and other tools
• recall lessons and students input
• save and package lessons for revision
• record lessons with voice overs
• prepare and share resources
• easily reset and rewind classes back to previous materials  etc

The list goes on, they are great but… BUT! the interactivity is limited to the one person at the front of the room. More often than not this is a tool for the teacher. Students are captivated but often the level of involvement is equal to a traditional whiteboard (Please note the often not always, I know of sterling examples of integration, but its is not always the case)

However things are changing…..

Promethean has a whiteboard (they call it an activboard) which accepts multiple input (2 pens) at once and input from several slates at once. – this is a step forward, this starts to make a difference and allows interactivity, to be more than just interactive for the teacher at the front of the classroom.

There is also a New Zealand company that has produced a multi input board. Called Nextwindow (if you were at learning@schools you will remember them click this to watch a video on ZDNET). This is multiple input without the need for specific pens. and the board can be written on with a whiteboard marker and not suffer a horrible fate. Check them out