More Participation in the ITForum

The following question was posed:
This has been my feeling regarding Smartboards for a number of years. Has there been any research done into the effectiveness of Smartboards at different levels of education - K-7, 7-12 and Tertiary?
Does it change the way people teach? Do students learner better? Is it just a school marketing tool so that when the head takes parents around they can say, "look how much we care about technology in learning, we have Smartboards in every classroom" ?
How many smartboard lessons are saved onto a VLE for access by students after the lesson?
My feeling is that a Smartboard is just a way for teachers not to move away from lecturing from the front of the classroom - there is no real change in how they teach.
I am under a lot of pressure from admin and teachers to provide smartboards, but I am looking at providing tools for creating online content and would rather see more students with access to technology in the classroom.

to which my response was:
I would agree with Jim's statement that it is about the method of instruction more so than the type of equipment. In my opinion, the learning experience is the same whether the teacher is using a Smartboard, a wireless slate, or an old-fashioned chalkboard. The value of the learning experience is dependent upon the degree to which the teacher can engage and include the student in the learning process. Programs such as Inspiration(R) are great tools to use with interactive equipment of all types because it changes the way teachers present materials and the way it is perceived by the students. Intel (R) Teach also has some great, free online interactive tools that promote higher-order thinking. www.intel.com/education