Dr. Marsano gave a speech at a technology conference regarding the effects of using the Promethean interactive white board (IWB) in the classroom. Through his research he discovered the IWBs were used most effectively by experienced teachers, who had been using them for two or more years, who use it for 75% of the class time, who had some training in using it. Additionally, it was most effective when the teacher focused on the content rather then on the IWB's "bells and whistles."

Dr. Marsano also talks about what happens when a teacher calls on one student to answer a question; the rest of the class tunes out. So he discusses the signalling devices and how they can be used to spur discussion and keep all student's attention.

It was interesting that his research discovered that 23% of the time teachers were worse off with the tech. He mentioned that some people are just not as effective with the technology. He calls the scenario I mentioned earlier, about the IWB's effectiveness, the "sweet spot," and if one was outside of that sweet spot the IWB's effectiveness decreased.  With that in mind I understand that as I get my feet wet in the teaching field I will find my niche, but I do believe that technology and the Promethean board or Smart board will play an important role in my classroom.