Interactive whiteboards, interactivity and play in the classroom with children aged three to seven years

This paper examines the current use of interactive whiteboards in the teaching and learning of children aged three to seven years in Wales, UK. It considers both teachers’ and children’s reflections regarding the use of this ‘novel’ technology. Observations in 30 classrooms with interactive whiteboards (IWB) and interviews with teachers and children from these classroom settings are analysed to develop an understanding of current practice regarding the use of IWBs and the thinking behind this. Findings reveal that the teachers value and promote ‘playful’ and ‘interactive’ experiences as vehicles for learning. Evidence of the use of the IWB technology to support learning experiences which were either ‘playful’ or ‘interactive’ were however limited. This study suggests that IWB are routinely being used to support a more instructionist form of pedagogy than would be supported by the socio‐cultural principles held by the majority of teachers interviewed or of the new foundation phase currently being implemented in Wales. Affordances, identified by practitioners, of IWB technology to support a ‘pedagogy of play’ are discussed