Magic Wand or Museum Piece? The Future of the Interactive Whiteboard in Education

This chapter looks at the processes by which a technology such as the interactive whiteboard can become “normalized” in our practice, in other words how it can reach the stage when it is used seamlessly and almost invisibly in our everyday pedagogy. After briefly reviewing the literature on the concept of normalization, and the ways in which a technology can reach that stage, the chapter argues that the IWB is not yet fully normalized in education, but the indications are that it might be some way through the process. It then draws on the work of the other contributors to the volume as a whole in order to identify some of the key factors which might contribute to the normalization of the IWB. It concludes with some recommendations for research and development for those seeking the normalization of the IWB in future. The key to making the IWB work for you is to take tried and tested teaching strategies and resources as your starting point, then wave that whiteboard wand over them to transform them into dynamic and interactive resources. (Evans et al., 2009, p.188; my emphasis) If we are to believe the above quotation, the interactive whiteboard is magical in its transformative capabilities, its sorcery requiring a minimum of human effort in order to impact on learning. This magical power has also been witnessed by others. According to McLean in The Guardian newspaper, the IWB is a worker of miracles, “not only allowing young students access to the curriculum but also simultaneously teaching them the English language” (McLean, 2006, p.7; my emphasis). Teachers, in this formulation, will be redundant very soon. The IWB will simply do our teaching for us while we lie on the nearest beach.