I could sense I was losing them. It’s not that they were bored. It’s not that they didn’t find the subject matter both relevant and helpful. It’s just they needed a break. So I stopped collecting their ideas and clicked the icon at the bottom. A video showing a real-life example appeared. The impact on the group was immediate as they changed state and relaxed and laughed, identifying with those on the screen.

Later in the session I needed some exciting background music so I clicked a different icon and the Boo Radleys’ “Walking on Sunshine” filled the room.

Later on still I wanted to promote a sense of questioning and puzzlement and so used colours to partly hide what we were discussing – making the delegates try to work out what was behind the scribbles.

At the end I wanted to go through the whole session, re-visiting each area of learning. This time I used the screen shade to cover parts of each ‘page’. Everyone made a picture of each page in their minds as they tried to remember what each one contained – they almost couldn’t help themselves.

After the training event I wanted to email everyone a copy of the notes made so I saved it all as a .pdf file and sent it off.

OK, so how was this all done? I did it by using the board that so many training venues have been persuaded to buy but have never used. Interactive Whiteboards are so often overlooked and misunderstood and yet they are probably one of the most versatile and helpful tools at your disposal. They can help you get away from the ‘death-by-PowerPoint’ syndrome, by creating some of the content as you go, rather than presenting a pre-pre-pre-prepared set of linear ideas that are pretty much set in concrete. With interactivity delegates can be part of the process, the process can react to incoming ideas, and interesting red herrings can be deflected to be discussed later, rather than just losing them.

Things you can do with an interactive whiteboard during a training session:

• Use pictures to illustrate 
• Record delegates' ideas in the same environment as the main ideas 
• ‘Mind map’ - create it as the ideas come in, illustrate it with graphics, move elements as the map develops, use a variety of colours – all the time working with the delegates rather than presenting a finished item 
• Re-organise information in order of priority as a result of delegate input 
• Access live information on the internet 
• Save all notes and print out anything helpful at the end

Some possible techniques that make your input rich and multi-sensory:

• Embed sound effects (e.g. Simpsons sound clips, Mastermind theme tune)
• Add video content 
• Use colours creatively (Studies have shown people learn worst off a white background)
• Drag items around on the board, re-ordering, prioritising, grouping, and so on (Kinaesthetic learners really appreciate these moments)
• Hide information and reveal it bit by bit, (making learners create their own images and meaning)

Call to action:

• If you are one of the lucky ones who owns a board then dust off the instruction book and take another look.
• Find somewhere/someone using a board well and go and watch them.
• Make a stand and decide never to use PowerPoint again – with interactive boards there is a better way!