From comments I posted on Edutopia.org in an article about interactive whiteboards:
This tool is going the way of the buffalo. It’s based on the ages-old point and click paradigm which will be eclipsed by the new multi-touch interface popularized by Jeff Hann and Apple.
Nineteen Ninety One. Educators are enamored with a tool that is at least 15 years old. Granted we still use pencil and paper, but those don’t cost us thousands of dollars to install and maintain. Save the $2000 and buy a computer projector, point it at a traditional whiteboard, and off you go. To save your work, use a digicam, or one of your student’s camera phones.
As educators, we need to stop reacting and start innovating. That may mean holding off on stop-gap technologies until something more effective surfaces (or until we develop our own technologies or lead students to develop those technologies for us). Save your budget dollars for now and investigate some of the great, free software available recently for educational use (Scratch, for instance, or Edublogs).
Check out the articles to see how others responded to these comments.
Board of Education: A Wall-Mounted Computer Monitor for Your Classroom | Edutopia
A Clean Slate: Interactive Whiteboard Makes Lessons Snazzy | Edutopia
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