Interactive Whiteboards and the First Year Experience: Integrating IWBs into Pre-service Teacher Education

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on how pre-service teachers investigate using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to incorporate e-teaching into their lessons. Digital convergence in the classroom makes technology an integral part of teaching rather than an add-on feature (Kent, 2004a, 2004b). To establish a context for the use of IWB in schools, the paper first examines relevant literature on IWBs. It then describes a program designed to link knowledge gained in a first-semester Information and Communication Technology (ICT) unit of a first year pre-service teacher undergraduate course with the practical use of IWBs in a mathematics education unit, Working Mathematically, in second semester. During this transfer of knowledge, pre-service teachers also explore the pedagogical implications of using IWBs in the classroom.