One of the more interesting findings from the study was that in 23 percent of the cases, teachers had better results without
the interactive whiteboards. To determine why this occurred, we
examined video-tapes of teachers using the boards. These disclosed some
potential pitfalls in using the technology:
Using the voting devices but doing little with the findings.
In many classrooms, teachers simply noted how many students obtained
the correct answer instead of probing into why one answer was more
appropriate than another.
Not organizing or pacing the content well. In these
cases, the teachers incorporated video segments from the Internet or
images intended to represent important information in their digital
flipcharts. However, they ran through the flipcharts so quickly that
students, although impressed with the graphics, did not have time to
analyze and interact with one another about the content.
Using too many visuals. Digital flipchart pages were awash with visual stimuli; it was hard to identify the important content.
Paying too much attention to reinforcing features. For
example, when teachers who had worse results with the technology used
the virtual applause feature to signal a correct answer, the emphasis
seemed to be on eliciting the applause rather than on clarifying the
content.