Other points of note were:

• Hearing children are able to work at a workstation whilst listening to instructions from the teacher. This proves impossible for the deaf child, as his visual attention can only be focussed on one thing at any one time. The child must look at the screen, then break away to watch his teacher for further information, before he reverts back to the screen to carry out the task. Clearly, this is not an ideal situation. With the whiteboard, their learning experience is enhanced greatly. The children can gather around one large screen and be completely involved in what they need to do and learn.
• The facility to annotate, record notes and comments and print these off proved really useful. I would imagine that this facility would be relevant in secondary or in an FE. or HE. situation, where students need note-takers in lectures.
• Two children in the class have vision problems. The large screen, text and icons allowed them to involve themselves fully, especially in the group activities. We did not have time to explore the on screen keyboard facility, but this might be useful for such children or those with fine motor problems.
• Children were initially unaware of the need to avoid standing in the path of the projector. Ideally a roof mounted one would have been preferable but financially it was not possible. However, the pupils quickly got used to standing in the correct place.
• We did experience considerable problems making the screen accessible to the smaller children! Sadly, we could not resolve this fully.
• At Longwill we try hard to develop the children's self esteem and pride in their own ability. The project did much to promote these aims. The pupils used the interactive whiteboard to make a presentation to friends and staff. ICT holds a high degree of status for children and clearly has a motivating influence on them.
• Opportunities to develop interactive activities were endless. Having a projector and whiteboard in class provide many positives, but the interactivity of a smartboard enhanced teaching and learning even further. The whole class sessions in both literacy and numeracy hours seems a particularly opportune time to utilise this technology.
• When working with Early Years and reception pupils I noticed an initial inability to apply adequate finger pressure on the board. We used painting packages to create pictures. The pupils' ability to "drag" their fingers on screen improved. Could this impact positively on their fine motor skill and pencil control on paper?
• Very young children were able to create beautiful pictures, explore living books, learning activities on the internet and much more. The interactive whiteboard engaged them, because of it's visual appeal and ease of access, long before they were able to use a keyboard of control a mouse with accuracy.
• Attention spans were often in excess of what would normally be anticipated. This was of particular note with the very young children and those who are thought to have poor concentration skills.

Clearly, the project has been a success and we believe in the potential that this new technology has to offer. Teaching and learning can be enhanced and it is especially relevant to the needs of the deaf child.
Whether it's success is due to teacher style or the potential of the interactive whiteboard itself is hard to define. I would suggest that it is a bit of both.