Secrets to attention-grabbing IWB content

Educators can use several IWB teaching strategies to hold students' attention.

Most educators are thrilled to have interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in their classrooms, but many wonder how to make the jump from passive teacher lectures to truly interactive and engaging lessons.

Interactive whiteboards are received with enthusiasm, but many educators still hold a traditional view of what an IWB can bring to the classroom, said Alyssa Porter, leader of product marketing and content strategy for DYMO/Mimio, during a recent webinar on the topic.

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New standard makes whiteboard content more accessible

"CFF, and open source in general, is where the entire world is going," said Hedrick Ellis, senior project manager for RM Education.
"CFF, and open source in general, is where the entire world is going," said Hedrick Ellis, senior project manager for RM Education.

In what educators and vendors are calling a giant step forward in education technology, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) recently announced that all major interactive whiteboard vendors have agreed to make their educational content available in the U.K. in a common file format (CFF).

By making these educational resources more shareable and accessible, many say, BECTA is setting a powerful example for change that could go global. Now, some in the United States and Canada — where such software still is mostly proprietary and incompatible — want to know when these same vendors will adopt the common file format in North America.

In 2007, BECTA—which is leading a national drive in the U.K. to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology in learning—teamed up with the RM Group, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of technology-based curriculum products for education, to address the issue of multiple interactive whiteboard (IWB) solutions each having their own proprietary software.…Read More