Abstract:

Nowadays we need to implement technology in educational environments because of the requirements of the information society; therefore the development of student’s digital competence requires enabling a new literacy. The responsibility rests heavily on the role of teachers; who should try to handle the tools for the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with an active and dynamic methodological approach.

Although there is consensus in the academic world concerning the importance and benefits of using ICT in education, classroom reality shows that a considerable number of teachers do not apply these approaches, reinforcing the idea that highlights Cuban, L (2001) who reminds us that technologies follow a slow revolution in educational environments

Area, M. distinguishes several types of studies when investigating the use of ICT in educational contexts, therefore starting from its classification, this study was based on the assessment of attitudes and opinions of teachers on the use of ICT. Thus, in the present study we found that the vast majority of teachers have a positive opinion concerning the potential and possibilities of technologies, but it was found that only 30% of teachers use ICT in classroom.

These data suggest that one must not fall into the trap of underestimating the obstacles of first and second order (Ertmer, 1999, Pelgrum, 2001) in the use of technology in those contexts. This study bears a closer relationship with the second-order barriers, which relate to the intrinsic aspects of the individual and their attitudes to the use of these tools. Overcoming these obstacles is the key to enable a pedagogical intent which can overcome all the problems that arise in design and development in teaching practice with technology.

In this regard, and based on relevant studies such as the Iberian Research Project, and authors such as Dulac, Gallego, Levy, Glover and Miller, we evaluate the importance of using the interactive whiteboard. It can be the tool that finally improves effective practice of ICT in classroom, due to very positive reviews which have been observed in this study, and its potential for interaction, motivation, creativity, active learning and involvement.

To sum up, the developed study captures the valuation of teachers on the use of ICT in everyday classroom practice in primary education. It analyzes the importance of the interactive whiteboard, a new resource full of possibilities. It is therefore considered appropriate to present a study on the successful experiences regarding the implementation of this tool, detailing the training approach which has worked, and what is more, the actions that have led to a successful and effective implementation in classroom.

Keywords:

Interactive whiteboard (IWB), Educational Formation, gender, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), qualitative research.