Interactive Whiteboard Technology in the Language Classroom

This book reports on a qualitative study concerning §the use of Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) technology §in the teaching of English as a foreign language at §Lancaster University, UK. Its primary aim was to §throw light on the potential of IWB technology for §supporting language learning in the context in §question. The research findings reveal several §pedagogical benefits of using the IWB technology, §such as helping learners to adapt to novel ways of §teaching, learning and working in the information §technology society, and creating higher levels of §active learner participation. Research data also §indicate that the ACTIVote system, a learner §response system commonly used in conjunction with §IWB technology, constitutes an important tool for §implementing novel ways of assessing, engaging and §motivating students. The findings also show that the §pedagogical exploitation of IWB technology poses §many challenges for the classroom community, §involving adaptation to new ways of teaching and §learning. This book discusses these issues and §outlines the lessons learnt from the data in terms §of how to better exploit the potential of IWB §technology in the language classroom.