There are many brands and models of interactive whiteboards to choose from for classrooms. Key brands include Mimio, Hitachi, Smart Technologies, PolyVision, Promethean, and Panasonic. Boards vary in size from 62 to 110 inches and features, like bundled software. Teachers can use boards for lessons, games, and polling students. Schools should consider size, features, and compatibility with other technology when selecting a board.

1. Interactive By: Lynnelee Worden Whiteboards

2. I n t r o A new generation of students has learned on digital whiteboards . The next generation will learn on ones that offer more diverse features and web-compatible extras. An interactive whiteboard can be seen one of two ways: as either a highly evolved regular whiteboard or an old-fashioned chalkboard brought to life. Interactive whiteboards come in various sizes to accommodate different sized classrooms. Teachers have many different ways to use the interactive whiteboard in the classroom. Students feel that they are a part of the lesson while using the interactive whiteboard.

3. Next-Gen Interactive Whiteboards Claudia Linh gives a short summary of all the major brands of Interactive Whiteboards that are available right now. The major brands on the market right now are Mimio, Hitatchi, Smart Technologies, PolyVision, Promethean, and Panasonic. All of these brands are similar but differ in the range of sizes available and packages that are included with the whiteboard. She also says the reason that chalk blackboards were replaced with marker whiteboards was due to concerns over allergies and other health risks that are posed to students and teachers with using chalk.

4. Mimio offers an array of multi-functional interactive whiteboards. There are four models that can be chosen: 78, 89, 98, 110 inches in diagonal measurement. A wireless USB receiver allows the interactive whiteboard to connect to a PC without wires. Hitachi’ s interactive whiteboards come only in 88 inches which is plenty big for presentations and multimedia activities. This version of the whiteboard has the ability to capture and record onscreen activity for posting on YouTube. Smart Technologies has two sizes in interactive whiteboards- 64 inches (standard) and 87 inches (widescreen). Both the widescreen and the standard versions ship with boom-mounted, short-throw projectors for longer bulb life, sharper image quality, and reduced shadowing to help prevent glare. PolyVision has two versions- 78 inches and 96 inches. This company’s whiteboard offers a 3-in-1 package: dry-erase marker and letter/number magnets, hardware such as Bluetooth, and a projector. Promethean ’s interactive whiteboard, Activboard, comes in 3 sizes- 64, 78, 95 inches. This board uses interactive mouse-pens and is easily transportable to other classrooms. Panasonic has one version of the interactive whiteboard-62 inches. This whiteboard has a built-in application that allows cross-classroom web-based collaboration.

5. What do I think? There are plenty of Interactive Whiteboards to choose from. Which one a school corporation decides will based on which board will fit the school’s needs the best. There are numerous boards to choose from depending size and what software/features are wanted on the board. Each board should fit the teacher and classroom’s needs.

6. The Wonders of Interactive WHITEBOARDS You can write, erase, and perform mouse functions with your finger, a pen, or anything with a maneuverable, firm surface. You can write in digital ink over applications, Web sites, and videos. You can capture your work or save your notes directly into different software applications. In the latest version, 9.5, you can even download the software onto a PC. That means teachers can create and prepare lessons at home, and students can review lessons and do work at home. Interactive whiteboards are very easy to use. A kindergarten teacher from Texas uses her board everyday. her students are now so savvy, they pretend they're the teacher. "They can use it on their own," she says. "They want to go do it." Michael Dunn of PolyVision states that he does not include a bundle in his whiteboard because he feels that school boards need to customize their package to their school’s needs.

7. Robert Martellacci produces much of the educational software that is sold in the bundles. RM's Easiteach, used in more than 40,000 education institutions around the world, comes with content packs for English language arts, math, science, and geography, all of which have been correlated to individual states' academic standards. ActivStudio, software by Prometheon, has a new graphics engine, with drag-and-drop capability, a customizable color palette, a reset button, and a voting button, which allows the teacher to poll students on questions for immediate whole-group assessment. “ When teachers use these boards, the students know it's going to be a fun day,” says Kelly Gaffney, a kindergarten teacher.

8. What do I think? I love that on these boards you can use your own finger to draw on the interactive whiteboard. The teacher or students can write on web pages with digital ink. I found it interesting that Michael Dunn of PolyVision does not include a bundle with his board. I agree with him though on the fact that the school corporation/teachers should agree on which programs would benefit the best.

9. Interactive Whiteboard System The Thomaston-Upson County School System just received their interactive whiteboards. They feel that this technology is good match for the teachers and students. The school system decided to go with Activboard which comes with Activslate-allows students and teachers to control the board- and Activote-allows the teacher to poll the students with a voting-like process. The teachers love this new whiteboard because there is no need to write out lesson plans because he or she can have them on the computer and project them onto the whiteboard.

10. Another teacher created a game similar to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” by using the Activote. The students use the voting feature to play the game and can even use the poll feature to ask other students for help. A tip that the school system if other schools are thinking of getting an interactive whiteboard is to make sure that all of your technologies will work together.

11. What do I think? I like the Activboard and that comes with a polling/voting feature. I think that students would enjoy and want to review for their tests if they are playing it as a gameshow. This article also mentioned to make sure all of the technology will work together-computer, vcr, dvd, projectors, and the interactive whiteboard.

12. Conclusion Interactive Whiteboards are an awesome new technology. With so many variations and sizes, there is a version for everyone! There are many different uses in the classroom and easily transportable to other classrooms if needed. I hope that when I become a teacher that my classroom will have an Interactive Whiteboard. It will be a learning experience for the students and myself.

13. Works Cited Linh, C. (2009). Next-gen interactive whiteboards. T H E Journal , 36(2). Starkman, N. (2006). The Wonders of interactive whiteboards. T H E Journal , 33(10). Gatlin, M. (2004). Interactive whiteboard system creates . T H E Journal , 31(6).