Investigating Teacher Training Needs for Interactive Whiteboards

The provided research papers highlight various studies conducted on teacher training needs for interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in Saudi Arabian schools. These investigations aim to understand how teachers are trained to use IWBs, the challenges they face, and what additional support they require. The studies also examine the impact of IWBs on student learning outcomes and creative thinking. This assignment will delve into these research papers to identify key findings, methodologies, and implications for teacher training and education policy in Saudi Arabia.

Evaluating the Impact of Interactive
Whiteboard on Student Achievement in
Saudi Arabia

TITLE:
Evaluating the impact of interactive whiteboard on student achievement in
Saudi Arabia.
1. INTRODUCTION:
1.1 Aim:
To evaluate the impact of an interactive whiteboard on the achievement of
high school students: A case study on Onaizah city of Saudi Arabia.
1.2 Objectives:
To investigate the impact of interactive whiteboard teaching on student-
teacher interaction and student's level of discussion.
Understanding the attitude of learners towards interactive whiteboard.
1.3 Research question:
Does the learner achievement differ according to teaching strategy?
1.4 Study background:
Interactive whiteboards (IWB) are the instructional device on which compute
images can be clearly and accurately displayed by using projectors. These
boards are widely used in schools and educational institutions to provide a
more interactive experience between learner and teachers. For improving the
presentation of educational content teachers are using IWB so that they can
use pictures, graphs which can be easily moved for developing better
understanding of the subject. Thus, this teaching approach has brought
significant differences in learning as well as teaching methodologies
(Tunaboylu and Demir, 2017). It improves the educational attainment of the
student and helps to gain more achievements through better discussion and
interaction with education providers.
1.5 Rationale
Education achievement level plays an important role in the career growth of
the students. IWB is one of the attempt to enhance the learning experience of

students in high school so that they can explore better growth opportunities.
So, it is important to understand the impact of IWB on education and student's
learning. Another reason for conducting this study is to evaluate the several
aspects related to IWB so that their use can be increased in the educational
institutions and more and more students can get benefits from such interactive
teaching methodologies.
1.6 Dissertation structure
The proposed dissertation segmented into following chapters.
. The structure and details of the chapters are as follows:
Chapter 1. Introduction
This chapter will give the background and the rationale for the study. It will
also consist of research objectives and aim so that the study can be conducted
with specific goal or direction.
Chapter 2. Literature review
Second chapter will provide resource evaluation from literature point of view
so that related findings can be analysed. The chapter will discuss the benefits
of IWB on teaching and learning process. It will also include the analysis of
student performance and learning effectiveness by incorporation of IWB.
Chapter 3. Methodology
Chapter third will describe the research methods for executing the research so
that research data can be analysed in a systematic approach. It will discuss the
research approach and philosophy used for the research purpose. The chapter
will also describe the data collection and sampling methods used for the
research.
Chapter 4. Data analysis
In this chapter of dissertation the research data will be collected, analysed and
interpreted so that research objectives can be achieved and conclusions can be
made.

Chapter 5. Conclusion
In last chapter will be of conclusion in which all study findings will be
summarised and conclusions will be made. The chapter describes the
conclusive impact of IWB teaching on learning process and improving the
teaching methods.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Interactive whiteboard (IWB) teaching
IWB is touch sensitive and a large display device. The user can use it as a
mouse, computer screen as well as interactive board. The board or computer
icons can be easily operated by using fingers, stylus, pen or pointers. According
to Gashan and Alshumaimeri (2015), teachers use IWB method for delivering
knowledge to students. Earlier the technique was limited to only business
presentations, however with the global impact and improvements in education
level has also encouraged the use of IWB in education. The teachers can
manage all their lectures and work on these devices. They can easily access
them at any instant without need of preparing study material with new start.
This teaching style has an impact on teaching, learning and motivation level of
students. Education attainment can be defined as the highest education level a
person has gained. Thus, it can be considered a very effective tool for
improving the educational attainment of the students.
Alghamdi (2015), stated that IWB is used by the educators to display the study
content in very attractive way full of text, pictures and graphs from the
internet. These whiteboards are also provided with the recording features so
that teachers can record their lessons and can even share their copies with the
students for future reference. The quality of education can be improved when
teaching is accompanied by quality resources. As compare to the conventional
teaching methods more preference is given to whiteboard teaching because it
allows educators to use several flash files and resources from the top
institutions available on internet.With this teaching approach these resources

can be easily shared by the teachers. The conventional teaching methods
either does not allow the facility to integrate study text with videos and high
dimensional pictures or needs crowding of students around a small computer
or screen. Thus, in comparison to the conventional methods IWB teaching is
highly efficient in terms of delivering knowledge.
In the view of Zaidi and et.al., (2016), accommodation of multiple learning
styles is also one of the attractive element for supporting its popularity. It
allows integration of visual as well as audio information along with the internet
access service. Storing educational concepts and lessons for the future
reference is routine and integral part of the education process. With
conventional approaches it is not possible for the students to access the notes
of teachers when their classes are missed. However, the use of IWB allows
students to access the lessons at any instant without time or space restrictions.
2.2 Impact of IWB on teaching and learning process
The high schools in Saudi Arabia which uses IWB in education have attained a
new quality level in the education process. According to Alfaki (2014), the
conventional teaching methods requires the major involvement of teachers
only and there was minimum integration among student groups. However,
with the use of whiteboards not only teachers but students also interact with
each other. The whiteboard has been also identified as brainstorming tool for
the students. The notes which are presented on the screen are easily shared
among students. Thus, for the subjects which need collaboration among
students interactive learning is the first choice of educators.
High schools of Saudi Arabia also offers complex subjects in which for better
understanding collaborative learning is required along with the detailed
diagrams or the analysis of various resources. Alabdulaziz and Higgins (2017),
stated that the interactive whiteboard can be easily connected with the
internet and thus tools such as video conference and information sharing allow
access to information from different sources. The approach affects both
teaching methods and learning strategies adopted by the students.
Schools in Saudi Arabia are able to use authentic material from all over the
world into classroom instead of limiting to only one or two sources. It has also
enabled teachers to improve their teaching and therefore to promote
professional development. Almalki and et.al., (2013), stated that contrary to
IWB teaching, in conventional whole class teaching teachers are focused on
only at way to organise the content and thus it is usually not possible for them

to walk around the class. However, with interactive board teachers can easily
move around the class and can closely observe the learning difficulties of each
and every learner. It helps to improve the learning experience. The re-usability
of the work and multimedia content also improves the learning behaviour of
students.
Zaidi and et.al., (2016), elucidated that colourful tools and interactive
environment within classrooms also acts as motivation for the students to
learn the new concepts. It is very easy to manipulate the text and images on
IWB and thus Saudi Arabian schools are taking at as an effective way to
encourage the discussion among class members and to make study interactive
and creative by the use of multimedia information.
2.3 Challenges imposed by whiteboard teaching
The high schools in Saudi Arabia are supporting the interactive whiteboards in
the education system. However, Al-Asmari and Rabb Khan (2014), stated that
implementing such advanced systems is not an easy and convenient task for all
the schools. The technical challenges have been one of the key barriers in the
adoption of this popular and beneficial technology. Many schools of Saudi
Arabia are facing technical issues such as poor quality of audio- video speakers,
outdated computer systems, system defects, visibility issues due to sunlight or
other building infrastructure issues, improper orientation of projectors and
delayed interaction between IWB and user movement. It can lead to poor
quality of knowledge delivered and instead of providing benefits, it can have a
negative effect on the learning behaviour.
In the same context Hamdan (2015), argued that technical problems are most
likely to occur in the rural areas of Saudi Arabia however the bigger challenge
is the knowledge gap. Many teachers and students as well are not accustomed
to this type of learning methods and thus despite several benefits they may
find hard to use it. In such schools interactive whiteboard may not achieve its
educational goals. Many schools in Saudi Arabia do not have sufficient
resources to implement such systems in all classes. Thus, it can be challenging
for many schools to incorporate this beneficial tool. The knowledge gap in
technical understanding as well as some considerations can be analysed as the
potential challenges for IWB teaching method in Saudi Arabia.
2.4 Impact of whiteboard teaching on performance and achievements of
students

In the view of Aytekin and et.al., (2012), learning behaviour of the students
have a great impact on the achievements and growth of students. With the
conventional teaching approaches it is quite common that only teachers
express views and there is minimum interaction of the students. IWB supports
different learning styles and thus when knowledge is delivered as per the
learning style choice of students then they acquire the knowledge very quickly
and effectively. For instance, the audio learners can get the benefit from the
recording feature of IWB while the students who have visual learning strategy
can trace the changes going on in learning process. Similarly, tactile learners
can manipulate the board for enhancing their learnings.
According to Alfaki, (2014) interactive classroom discussion helps students in
developing and improving communication and analytical skills.
It helps them in future career choices as well when learners may require
interacting with vast range of learners. Instead of verbal instruction integration
of the videos and pictures provides better learning experience. The IWB allows
the integration and utilisation of multiple study material and learning styles.
This attribute is beneficial for the students from the future perspective as well.
For instance, the students in the field of science and research can study even
the minor details of their subject. This method teaches learners that how they
can link multiple study resources for gaining knowledge. Thus, from high
school level also the students in Saudi Arabia are provided education of
research skills which is remarkable event in their academic progress.
3. RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 Philosophy
Research philosophy can be defined as a way in which data is to be gathered,
analysed and used. Research philosophy for a research design is of four types
which adoesn't re: pragmatism, positivism, realism and interpretivism.
Pragmatism research philosophy can be used in both qualitative and
quantitative research design (Creswell and Clark, 2017). Data collected in
positivism is highly structured and is mostly used in quantitative data analysis.
Realism philosophy is used according to the subject chosen, it doesn't matter
on what type of research it is i.e. it can be qualitative or quantitative.
Interpretivism is mostly used for small sample size and for qualitative research.
For this dissertation interpretivism will be used because with this philosophy

instead of generalised findings more specific conclusions are developed on the
basis of primary data collected.
3.2 Sampling
Sampling is used to select the members of the selected population within the
study. It is used because too large population cannot be worked together
directly. So a small sample of a large population is selected in order to
complete the research with accurate result. It is of two types i.e. probability
and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling is used when all the
members of the population are participating in the research. Contrary to this
non-probability sampling is used when all the members of the selected
population do not participate in a study. For this dissertation non-probability
sampling will be used and interviews will be conducted with 10 students and
10 teachers of high school in Onaizah city, Saudi Arabia. In this study non
probability sampling is used because it is very cost and time effective and can
also be used with the small population size.
3.3 Data collection
Data collection methods describe the way to collect relevant study data. Data
can be collected in two ways, primary or secondary. The primary data is the
new set of measured or analysed data which is obtained by the researcher for
the first time (Kumar, 2019). On the other hand secondary data is collected
from the work of other researchers and is then interpreted or analysed. The
key primary sources are interviews, questionnaire while the secondary sources
which can be used for the research are books, journals and research papers. In
this study both primary and secondary data sources will be used. Primary data
collection is used so that actual perspective of teachers and students can be
understood while the secondary data collection helps to related the findings
with the findings of other researchers. For the primary data collection
interview will be conducted with the sample participants.
3.4 Data analysis
For obtaining the relevant conclusions collected data must be analysed in an
organised manner. The data analysis can be performed by using statistical tools
or thematic analysis. In thematic analysis various themes are developed on the
basis of collected data and then findings are obtained. Contrary to this in
statistical tool based analysis different software tools are used which uses
statistical methods for determining the statistical relations between data set. It

is usually preferred for quantitative data. This study is a qualitative type and
thus in this research thematic analysis will be used.
3.5 Ethics
In primary research ethics are also important and makes the research
outcomes acceptable and reliable. The study will use primary data collection
methods thus it is essential that all participants must give informed consent
prior to the study. For this purpose study objective and purpose must be
clearly informed to all samples (Bardzell, Bardzell and Koefoed Hansen, 2015).
It the responsibility of the researcher to assure that privacy and confidentiality
of the participants are respected and they must be allowed skipping any
interview question or the study at any instant of time. Another important
ethical aspect which must be used followed during the study is to ensure that
respondents are not harmed during the entire research.
3.6 TIMETABLE OF RESEARCH
4. CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above discussion that high schools in Saudi Arabia
can assure more quality education and achievements by encouraging the use
of whiteboard in schools. The whiteboard teaching encourages the different
Activity
Time period
in weeks
Research Introduction 1 week
Literature Review 3 weeks
Research Methodology 3 weeks
Data analysis, Discussion and Finding 5 weeks
Conclusion and Recommendation 2 weeks

types of learning styles and resource sharing so that more quality content can
be provided to students. It has been analysed that the use of pictures, audio
and games can enhance the learning capabilities and efficiency of the students.
Thus, there are a lot of schools in Saudi Arabia uses IWB in their education
environment. It has been also observed that during teaching when teachers
give emphasis on particular words or phrases during lectures then it creates
strong impact on the student.
However instead of giving mere oral emphasis teachers can use different
colours for highlighting and movement to draw the attention of the students
towards a specific portion of the study material. The IWB also feature
hideaway option so that teachers can gain the concentration of students
towards a particular concept. Thus, it can be concluded that IWB technology
makes learning process highly specific, focused and accurate. It allows both
teachers and students to explore and share a wide range of resources.
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