Survey Reveals How Educators Really Use Interactive White Boards

Sales for interactive whiteboards (IWBs) grew by 33.8% from the 2008-09 school year to 2009-10 (Technology Buying Trends: Documenting the Shift From Print to Digital in the K-12 Market, EMR), but how does this market penetration play out among grades and subjects? How are educators using IWBs? A new report from Education Market Research (EMR), the National Survey of Interactive Whiteboard Usage, looks more closely at how educators are incorporating IWBs into daily classroom instruction.

Survey Highlights

• 63.5% of those surveyed have a dedicated interactive whiteboard in their classroom.
• A strong majority (65.1%) of the sample said they use an IWB with their students every day, which would work out to about 20 times a month. The average frequency reported by the educators polled was 14.8 times a month.
• Nearly half said they were “somewhat experienced/knowledgeable” (47.4%) regarding the IWB, while another 27.3% said they were “very experienced/knowledgeable.”
• According to the largest group of survey respondents (42.7%), they have their IWBs in use more than 5 hours a week. The average usage duration is 4.6 hours a week.
• In grades K-2, Mathematics (93.8%) and English/Language Arts (92.3%) get the most mentions for frequent IWB use. In grades 9-12, Mathematics (55.7%) is still number one, but Science (32.9%) and Social Studies (30.5%) come before English/Language Arts (26.3%).
• The largest group of respondents (45.9%) indicated that the majority of the instructional resources they use with their IWB comes from their own imagination and ingenuity.

While many of the respondents view the IWB as the current must-have device and think it is here to stay (69.8%), they also expressed the opinion that “pad-like devices” (57.3%) will be the next “big thing” in their classrooms.

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The National Survey of Interactive Whiteboard Usage will be released in late April at the published price of $1,250. However, for a limited time, AEP members can pre-order the National Survey of Interactive Whiteboard Usage: 2011 for just $895.

For more information, download the promo sheet and table of contents, or contact Bob Resnick at 718-474-0133.

To order your copy today at the special AEP member discount of $895, contact Colleen Quigley, at 302-295-8345.