Interactive whiteboards increase student attention, engagement, participation, and test scores!

More about interactive displays....

According to a press release from Smart Technologies, a study conducted in the UK and Europe during the years 2002-2006 found positive results regarding the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom:

"The following outcomes were among its key findings: interactive whiteboard use results in improved student performance in national tests in English, math and science, compared to student performance without interactive whiteboards; digital content on interactive whiteboards is engaging, motivating, and students pay more attention during lessons; and interactive whiteboard use encourages greater student participation in the classroom."

There are several types of interactive large-screen displays available for use in educational settings, and there are several companies working on large touch-screen displays that could be adapted for use in schools, media centers, and public libraries.

(I prefer large-screen displays/interactive boards that do not rely on an external projector)

Resources:

Link to PDF of full report: "The ICT Impact Report: A Review of Studies of ICT Impact on Schools in Europe" (Anja Balanskat, Roger Blamire, Stella Kefala, European Schoolnet.)
Resource and Research List, "Interactive Whiteboards", from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF)
Education World article "Speaking of Electronic Whiteboards?"
Large Display Research Overview from Microsoft Research (PDF)

The following is a partial list of companies that make or sell interactive displays and/or whiteboards:

SmartTechnologies
NextWindow
Promethean
Mimeo
Accenture
NEC
Interwrite

For Teachers:

Lessons and Links for Interactive Whiteboard Classroom Activities

Online interactive whiteboard activities for primary classrooms (from Topmarks Education, UK)

SmartTechnologies lesson activities for the SmartBoard

National Gallery of Art Kids

PBS Kids

National Geographic Kids

NASA Kids

Discovery Kids

Music Tech Teacher (Includes online games and music learning activities)

Flash Music Games
(some games cam be downloaded)

I'll be posting more links on the Interactive Multimedia Technology website soon.