The effects of using an interactive whiteboard on the academic achievement of university students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the effects of the use of an interactive whiteboard on the academic achievement of university students on the topic of electricity in a science and technology laboratory class. The study was designed as a pretest/posttest control group experimental study. Mean, standard deviation and t- tests were used for data analysis. An independent groups t-test was used to test for the differences between the pretest and posttest mean of experimental and control group. No significant difference was observed between the academic achievement of the students in the experimental group, who were taught with both interactive whiteboard and laboratory practices, and the control students, who experienced only laboratory practices. The posttest standard deviation values in the experimental group were relatively lower than those in the control group. The electric motor, electric bell, and generation of the induction current models were prepared on the computer by the researchers using Macromedia Flash 8, and its application was undertaken by the students on the interactive whiteboard (smart board). It was seen that although interactive whiteboard use might not significantly alter students' academic achievement, it encouraged them to participate more in the lesson, created an interesting and enthusiastic atmosphere, and led to more enjoyable lessons. At the same time, many students from the experimental group stated that the interactive simulations and virtual experiments were superior to real experiments and enabled them to better visualize the topic. © 2011 HKIEd APFSLT.