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What are Interactive Whiteboards?

Interactive whiteboards are digital environments with multimodal features (text, images,
symbols, drawings) that provide a shared space between teacher and learners that is both
accessible and directly manipulative (De Vita et al., 2018). Students can collaboratively edit a
digital whiteboard to share ideas, solve problems, or reach a consensus in small groups.
Interactive whiteboards can usually be saved and exported for continued work, sharing, and
archiving.

What does research say about using whiteboards for teaching mathematics?

From research on traditional/physical interactive whiteboards (e.g. Smartboards), we know these tools
can be used to support students’ academic achievement, positive attitudes, classroom management,
knowledge construction, learner engagement and interactivity, motivation, and visual quality (Balta &
Duran, 2015; Higgins, 2010; Holmes, 2009; İpek & Sözcü, 2016; Warwick et al. 2011). We also know
traditional/physical interactive whiteboards can reinforce traditional, teacher-centered pedagogical
styles, as often only teachers control the board and students begin focusing only on visual appeal rather
than the content itself (Holmes, 2009; Smith et al., 2005, 2006; Torff & Tirotta, 2010). Just like other
technological tools, the key in whiteboard effectiveness is about how teachers use the tool.

As for digital interactive whiteboards (e.g. Whiteboard.fi), there are similar themes, though less research
is available (Erdener & Kandemir, 2019). When used with active and collaborative pedagogical
approaches, interactive digital whiteboards can help students to improve their cognitive learning across
all currently available interdisciplinary research reports (Shi, et al., 2021). Like other technological tools,
frequency of use impacts students’ perceived efficiency and perceived learning (Fuchs, 2021). Effective
patterns for using interactive whiteboards in mathematics occur in ways supporting research-based
practices, for example supporting problem-solving and for organizing mathematical work, reflections,
and representations (De Vita et al., 2018; Kutluca et al., 2019; Kohen, 2019; Shi et al., 2018, 2021).

References: Using Interactive Whiteboards with Mathematics Teachers and Students

Oct 1, 2021 by:David Glassmeyer and Melissa Paurowski Kennesaw State University 

In this study, the thoughts and the attitudes of middle school students towards mathematics and the use
of the interactive whiteboard in mathematics classes and their thoughts were examined. In the current
study where an explanatory mixed method was used, attitudes of students were determined by means
of scales, and in-depth knowledge about the topic was obtained via semi-structured interview questions
and the analysis of the data. Thus, as a result of the data analyses in the present study, it was first found
that the participants’ attitudes towards mathematics and the use of the interactive whiteboard was
above average. In other words, the attitudes of the students can be considered to be at the level of
'Agree'. This finding indicates that participants liked mathematics and were pleased with the use of the
interactive whiteboard in mathematics lessons. This may be due to the fact that participants have a high
level of motivation towards learning mathematics. As a matter of fact, in the survey conducted by Ocak
& Yamaç (2013), it was stated that the high motivation of the students towards mathematics increased
the level of positive attitude towards attitudes. In support of this study, Pamuk, Çakır, Ergun, Yılmaz &
Ayas (2013) stated that students' and teachers' attitudes towards the interactive whiteboard were
generally positive.

References: The Use of the Interactive Whiteboard in Mathematics and Mathematics Lessons from the
Perspective of Turkish Middle School Students Nezih Önal1 & Cennet Göloğlu Demir2