Shared cognition facilitated by teacher use of interactive whiteboard technologies

This paper reports on a study designed to examine the dialogic processes teachers used to sustain focused discussions, using questioning techniques and Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs). IWBs and their related technologies such as plasma touch screens and projected tablets have passed through several phases of implementation as classroom objects, from initial adoption by a few enthusiasts, through the building acceptance phases, and finally a phase of maturity characterized by widespread use. This study shows that teachers who value shared collaborative learning spaces, can draw on distributed cognition, and promote sustained thinking, cognitive engagement and that this enables development and refinement of students insights.