Some history
The College purchased its first interactive whiteboards in 2002. Promethean boards were chosen and set up to be used in a mobile manner (PC and projector housed in a cabinet on wheels, known affectionately as Mobigo units and the whiteboards on moveable stands) to suit the open plan nature of our building at the time.
Some problems!
The first incarnation of the Promethean software was extremely unstable! Often the required driver for the board would disappear and need re-installing or the software would crash mid-way through a session. Even as a trainer, demonstrating the software to our teaching staff, fingers were kept crossed in the hope you'd get to the end of the session without a technical glitch. As our boards were mobile tutors also had to re-wire the connections from the PC to the board and calibrate the pen to the board before the system could be used. Alas for most staff this gargantuan chore coupled with reliability issues was a step too far...bring back the slate and chalk!
Things improve
Over time the Promethean software improved and became far more reliable. We've also focused on ceiling mounting the projectors and attaching the boards to the walls. This has meant that set up is now consistent, staff do not need to mess with wires when using the boards and everything is easily controllable from a simple Procon control panel.
Recently we've also invested in the flashy new Smart Boards with attached projector for our new campus in Thurrock and Maitland House, our new centre in Southend.
Although the Smart Board software (Notebook) is more simplistic than that of the Promethean board the ability to use your fingers to write and control the on-screen action immediately after logon is an ergonomic masterstroke which draws the user in. The tactile nature of the system is both inviting and intuitive, encouraging you to explore.
Training
There is no doubt that tutors are impressed with the power and scope of the interactive whiteboards. Training sessions are hands-on affairs and after the briefest of introductions to the 'kit' trainees are amazed at the potential for creating resources and leading interactive sessions that the boards can offer. It is important to illustrate how the software can interact with existing, familiar resources such as scribbling over a Word document or highlighting words on a website. You don't have to re-invent the wheel to utilise the tools the boards have to offer. Once a tutor is comfortable and confident with the basics they can explore the potential of the boards further and really get to grips with the software.
Despite this, we still have some way to go before we see every board fully utilised. Lecturers are comfortable using the projector and screen to display a PowerPoint or a DVD but because of past (negative) experiences of the boards when they were a little less reliable are unwilling to go that extra step to get the most out of the system. This is undoubtedly our biggest barrier and one we need to continue to overcome.