In response to an increase in buyer willingness to invest in tools leading to a richer education experience, Middle East markets have seen an influx of interactive learning products supplementing traditional classroom setups.

But how does one go about defining the concept of interacting learning? After all, most learning, from sophisticated webcast lectures to conventional chalk and talk classrooms, is interactive because the students and teachers are communicating. It is this confusion in terminology that can make the adoption of interactive technology open to misinterpretations.

Fundamentally, interactive learning technology is a host of tools, hardware and teaching methods that all have one thing in common - an emphasis on engaging the student in a bilateral conversation and exploration. Interactive learning is any learning that involves IT-facilitated interaction with students, instructors, the environment, and content. This makes interactive learning quite unlike old-fashioned training videos and online material that brooked no argument and allowed no feedback.

Interactive learning can, at its best, allow for immersive exchanges relying on audio, visual and tactile interaction, as well as allow for complete networking that allow students and instructors to instantly share information and the formidable resources of the World Wide Web. Interactive lectures could include hyperlinks to outside sources, and have video or audio defending different points of view.

One of the more popular tools for the contemporary classroom is the interactive whiteboard – an IT- powered panel that can be used to deliver instruction in a variety of ways.Whiteboards are considered more versatile and effective than conventional chalk and talk because they can integrate a variety of learning channels. Whiteboards can use text, images and video for visual stimuli, and music, sounds, speeches and pronunciation for auditory learning. Whiteboards also let students communicate with them directly through an infra red cordless keyboard to allow tactile learning and manipulation. Whiteboards seem to justify their hype. Independent researches conducted by the University of Sheffield, and by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTa), concur that whiteboards improve student engagement.

The whiteboard may have become a byword for the interactive learning paradigm, but interactive technology is not restricted to just the whiteboard, and whiteboards do not work alone. Students and faculty members should be able to interact with displayed content, and this requirement has given rise to a number of tools, both software and hardware, that come together to form a participative environment. Important tools include a projector to display content, audio systems, and student feedback devices that allow students to respond visual and audio content, opening up possibilities of snap quizzes being conducted on audio-visual material.

SMART, an interactive learning technology provider active in the Middle East, offers an extended whiteboard portfolio that includes their SMART Board™ 690 interactive whiteboard, as well as wireless slates and interactive response systems.

Global consumer electronics provider Panasonic has also come up with an interactive whiteboard offering – the Panaboard, which seems to be more targeted to corporate customers in the region, though it boasts all functionality needed for use in the classroom. Edutech and Promethean are other leading interactive education technology and content providers supporting the surge of investment for quality education in the region.

Schools, colleges, university and training institutions have been quick to jump on the bandwagon when confronted with interactive technology’s aptitude for increasing student achievement through increased student engagement. Effectively using interactive tools, together with other educational improvement efforts, has the potential to greatly assist educators in their efforts to attract and maintain student attention and even improve student enrolment.

However, the introduction of interactive learning can be a complex process that can not be initiated into without a clear strategy.Any technological intervention towards the benefit of education and learning will only prove its worth when supporting resources are realized. These resources mean not only funds to acquire the technology, but also the time and effort in end-user training, and the sourcing of relevant content in support of the curriculum. The onus is on buyers to understand their own requirements, and source interactive learning technology solutions and services tailored to their needs. Buyers should also research the context and cultural issues surrounding interactive learning technology. They should, for instance, have a clear idea off whether or not their teachers would prefer to have whiteboards in their classrooms. Resources allocated for acquiring interactive tools for teachers who do want to use them will not generate returns on investment. Of course, teachers will be more receptive to the benefits of didactic technology when they effectively trained. Training should be treated as an important budgetary consideration at the very outset. Glossing over training can lead an interactive technology setup to an early death through disuse.

There is a also clear and present danger that,without adequate resources and support, new technology falls into the limitations imposed by old ways of working Without content and support, interactive technology implementations, complete with whiteboards, IR pointing devices and student remotes can simply duplicate old teaching setups – with chalk giving way to PowerPoint presentations, and students relying on their remotes rather than raising their hands to ask questions.

The phenomenon of new technology mimicking the processes of old has been a byproduct of all technology shifts in history. When the steam engine was replaced by the electric motor, setups relied on one large motor driving all factory equipment as before. True advantages only came about when factory engineers realized that smaller motors could be fitted to each machine, without needing to arrange everything around a central power source. The first cars aped the horse carriages they replaced. Modern word processors replaced the electronic typewriter that in turn did away with the mechanical typewriter, but the inefficient QWERTY keyboard configuration has stayed through it all.

Buyers, vendors and manufacturers alike are coming to grips with the fact that interactive technology necessitates new, potentially more powerful ways of education delivery. Interactive technology suppliers are working with end users to offer interactive whiteboard tailored content and training to make sure that their customers receive benefits from their investments. Promethean hosts its interactive content portal, Promethean Planet, to help teachers create, share and download content. At Promethean, accusing ICT advances of merely reproducing a more expensive version of the traditional classroom provokes a strong reaction.

“I think it is cynical and easy to accuse interactive technologies of aping traditional methods, In the last year I have traveled all over the world and the one thing that always inspires me is how students are more engaged when they are taught in an interactive environment.We are now in an age where children are used to technology and are more engaged when it is being used. In point of fact, we have many collaborative classrooms installments that include assessment where you can monitor the progress of individual students. The assessments show that an improvement in results has been seen when the collaborative technology has been implemented,” asserts Mark Reeves, Director of International Sales.

Mimicking old classroom setups is not where interactive learning technology’s true strength lies. The different dimensions that these tools bring to the learning experience mean that the concept of learning delivery can be reworked from the ground up. It is here that potential buyers have to carefully think about what they want from their interactive technology setup, and enlist the (often paid) support of vendors and manufacturers in implementation and user training.

The clichéd version of a technologically advanced classroom evokes images of automated blinds, and swiveling projectors. But according to SMART, a two-way learning environment facilitated by technology can be started off with just a few basic elements:

INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD The heart and soul of a fof a 21st-century classroom is the interactive whiteboard.

PROJECTOR For best effect the projector should be permanently mounted in the ceiling or on the wall.

TEACHER COMPUTER The interactive whiteboard and projector connect to the teacher computer.

STUDENT DEVICES Whether it’s one-to-one computing or several computers or devices available for sharing, the classroom isn’t complete without computers for students to use.

AUDIO SYSTEM An audio system for the teacher not only eliminates strain on teachers’ voices, but also eliminate hearing difficulties for students.

INTERACTIVE RESPONSE SYSTEM Putting an interactive response system into each child’s hands can give the teacher immediate feedback regarding student learning everyday, rather than waiting for periodic tests. Response devices ensure that each child is participating and actively engaged.

SUPPORTING TOOLS Common tools include printers, scanners and webcams.

DIGITAL CONTENT Students learn in different ways. The many digital resources available today allow teaches to address topics in different ways to complement student learning styles. The true potential of interactive technology can only be used when digital content tailored to the curriculum is available.