An interactive whiteboard, or IWB for short, allows a direct interaction between the pupil and the subject matter and has even more touch-screen dynamics than you would expect from many PCs. By using essentially just a projector and a computer, the image from the computer's desktop is projected onto a wall and is then able to be activated and manipulated by simply touching any part of the image.

For example, in maths, a cluster of random numbers on a page could be rearranged into their correct order by touching each one and dragging it down to form a line, and doing the same for all of them.

By using a teaching resource as flexible as a IWB, subjects like maths can suddenly become far more hands-on for pupils. For example, the everyday usages of maths can be displayed and interacted with to give pupils a visual and auditory example of why a lesson is important; like to explain interest on a bank account or show a 20% discount on a clothing sale.

As well as a huge selection of free applications and resources to use with an IWB for specific subjects, another handy program is Power Point. Using this, teachers can create any size or type of graph they want, but in a couple of ways that weren't necessarily possible when traditional whiteboards and blackboards were the norm.

A 3D graph can be an exciting way for pupils to be able to visually understand how separate elements of a subject can relate to each other and manipulate each other and, similarly, a IWB lets you create 'live graphs' where, throughout the class, the graph can be updated as and when certain things happen; like the phone ringing or a bird flying passed the window.

For numbers games, an interactive whiteboard is perfect. Although you can now download specific software for various games and activities, with a little bit of imagination it is not hard to create your own. Creating numbers games, much like those found on many TV game shows, lets pupils learn the subject whilst also being able to compete against each other or, better yet, against the clock.

Why not put a large number in the centre of the screen, surround by a handful of smaller numbers, and then add a timer to bottom of the screen? Once the timer starts, the pupils have one minute to add, subtract, divide or multiply all the smaller numbers to create the big number. Online there are hundreds more interactive teaching resources similar to this that can be downloaded for the classroom too.

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