IWB's in the classroom!

There was a time when teachers stood in front of the class, with chalk poised on the blackboard while pupils scribbled away furiously.

Now teachers' presentations have tocompete with the expectations raised by the technology children have at home - iPods, Playstations and home computers.
But they do now have their own multimedia technology in the classroom, in the form of interactive white boards (IWBs).These are a virtual one-stop-shop that acts as an overhead projector, television, DVD player, photo album, computer and depending on your software - much, much more.

Ministers were so excited by the technology they gave schools £50m in 2004 to install them in their classrooms. Now nine out of 10 schools use them. But some teachers were not so excited - as it meant they not only had to master a whole new way of teaching but the software and hardware that went with it.

The school I taught at in the UK - Suffolk's Castle Manor School has, like many schools, embraced the technology and now has 25 IWBs.
Every Monday it holds a virtual assembly, featuring student achievements in a news bulletin shown in classrooms on the white board.

But is it useful for the nitty gritty of teaching?