14/09/08

It's official - white is the new black! In schools and classrooms all over the country the traditional blackboard (that has done such sterling service for the last hundred years or more) is being replaced by hi-tech, state-of-the-art interactive whiteboards. Central and local government initiatives (and undoubtedly the fund-raising efforts of PTAs) are bringing about a revolution in the classroom.

However, for that revolution to be successful trainees and teachers need to get to grips with this new hardware. Just as blackboards and "chalk and talk" have been everyday tools to teachers in the last century, teachers in this century are all going to be using interactive whiteboards (of one kind or another) on a daily basis. They need to embrace this new technology if they are to make a successful career in teaching.

The purpose of the "Board With Teaching" website is to help trainees and teachers to do just that! By clicking on the menu bar at the top of this and subsequent pages they will get access to all they need to know about interactive whiteboards.

• The Facts - takes you to a page that answers such questions as What is an interactive whiteboard? How are they the same? How are they different? Who are the main suppliers?

• Information - takes you to a page offering advice and information on how to use an interactive whiteboard, safety issues associated with their use and where to find training materials.

• Research - summarises the substantial research that has been carried out (and is still ongoing) into this blossoming technology and includes links to further detail for those who need it.

• Applications - takes you to a page that suggests uses for this new technology in classrooms and also to a number of ideas for using interactive whiteboards across the National Curriculum.

• Resources - is an exhaustive list of briefly reviewed links to the many free resources on the Web that can either be downloaded or used online with interactive whiteboards.

• Web Links - brings up a compilation of quick links to all sorts of websites that contribute to the growing body of knowledge about interactive whiteboards and to those all-important resources.