The Nine Don'ts of Teaching with an Interactive Board or Projector

Posted: Jun. 10th, 2015

Quite often, I make a number of visits to teaching facilities that have implemented innovative technology in the classroom environment. In many instances, one common finding is that some educators still do not understand some of the key don’ts of classroom instruction using the interactive board or projector. Because many instructors cannot observe themselves while teaching to notice some of the mistakes, most of these mistakes go unnoticed and hence uncorrected. For this reason, if you are an innovative instructor, chances are that you are practicing one or more of these classroom habits.

To help you and your students reap maximum benefits from learning in an innovative classroom, I share some of the most common don’ts you should avoid in an innovative classroom.

1. Do not have your back against the participants

This is one of the most common observations in an instructor-led classroom setup. Here, the instructor sets up their laptop so that they face the board or the screen while using the laptop. Because of this position, the instructor will teach with his or her back facing the participants, which is outright wrong. In a classroom, it is best practice to face the students while teaching so that it does not seem like the instructor is speaking to the board instead of teaching the students.

A simple solution would be to turn the laptop so that the back of the laptop is facing the class. The teacher can then use the laptop as a teleprompter from where the notes can be referred. An advantage of this change is that the instructor can gauge the reaction and level of interest of the class as well as sustain eye contact, which is important for an authentic discussion.

2. Do not create shadows on the screen or whiteboard

In a typical classroom setup, the teacher stands in front of the interactive board or screen and gestures or points at the screen to make points. In some cases, the instructor will stand in the path of the light source coming from the projector, creating shadows that wholly or partially obstruct the image on the screen.

In such a scenario, you should always be aware of the trajectory of the light from the projector. When standing near the board becomes necessary, try using a pointing stick or a laser pointer to illustrate your points. You could also try redirecting the attention of the students to the specific area of interest on the board under discussion. Additionally, you could try staying away from the board completely by engaging the class from the laptop. By avoiding making shadows on the board, you help the students gain more from your material.

3. Do not project small or crooked images

Another common issue seen when projecting images on the screen is displaying a small or crooked image without the instructor noticing. In most situations, this happens after the projector is switched on and the instructor does not realize that the image needs adjusting.

The first thing you should do after turning on the projector is to ensure the image is well adjusted to fit the screen or board onto which you are projecting. You can either use the keystone feature on the projector or adjust the projector manually to correct crooked images. You can also change the size of the image by adjusting the projector settings or by positioning the projector properly from the screen. To straighten an image, you can use the projector’s keystone feature or you can move the projector physically to the right or left.

A good instructor will always avoid displaying undersized or distorted images on the screen or board. A straight and fitting image on the screen ensures that participants are able to focus on the material in your presentation.

4. Do not leave the participants in darkness

Another common mistake many instructors do when displaying material via the projector is turning off the lights in the room. The process of teaching and being taught should not take place in darkness. Contrary to popular belief, a dark room does not inspire engagement and interaction in the classroom when using a projector or interactive board. A dark classroom makes the participants comfortable enough to sleep and takes away the opportunity for you to make eye contact and gauge reactions of the participants.
Do not leave the participants in darkness when using an interactive board


Leaving the lights on is best practice in classroom instruction. In most classrooms, projected items are still visible with the lights on. For classrooms that have multiple electrical light sources, you can switch off the lights at the front of the room and leave the rest on. Alternatively, you can close blinds around the area of the room where you are projecting. If it is still difficult to get any visibility with the lights on, you can switch off the lights and then put up some lamps for the classroom. In addition to improving visibility, the lamps will improve the ambiance of the room.

Good lighting enables your students to remain engaged, alert, and more likely to be active participants. The teacher and students can see each other and drive meaningful classroom discussion.

5. Do not use your finger to point

This is one of the most common issues evident in many classrooms. Many instructors believe that by pointing the screen during a class the participants will understand better. In the process, instructors end up in a constant cycle of movement between the screen and their laptop.

All computers are equipped with a cursor, which is very useful for illustration purposes. The cursor makes the constant movement between the laptop and the screen pointless. Students fully understand the purposes of the cursor in such settings. When instructed, they will duly follow it when you are trying to make a point on the screen.

Using the cursor to point is advantageous because it allows you to keep eye contact with the students and gauge their understanding and interest with the material. As a plus, it allows you to avoid the tiring cycle between the laptop and the board or screen.

6. Do not sacrifice instructional time while setting up the projector

As an instructor, you should always ensure you do not waste valuable instructional time while setting up equipment. Despite the fact that technology is a valuable tool for instruction, it should not interfere with the teaching process in any way. Students who are keen to learn should never be paired with instructors who are not prepared to teach.

One solution is to have the teachers familiarize themselves with the equipment so that they know where each component goes when setting up. Another solution is having one tech-savvy student taking on the responsibility of setting up while the instructor is starting the class.

Apart from increasing student learning, having students set up the equipment encourages the students to be more confident and aware of their abilities and talent.

7. Do not assume the participants can see whatever you see

It is easy for the instructor to assume that the audience can see the same content and quality of material being projected to the screen because of the instructor’s proximity to the interactive board or laptop. People at the back of the classroom may not always see clearly.

It is important to zoom in and out accordingly to enable everyone to have good viewing angles. All computers come with some sort of zoom feature. In some, this feature is accessible by using the “command” or “ctrl” in combination with either “-“ or “+”. In others, the mouse’s scroll wheel can be used for this purpose. A visit to your computer’s help menu can help in case these options do not work.

Good viewing angles help your students to hear and see your presentation. Having a student remind you when you need to zoom is a good option in a classroom setting.

8. Do not take up all the shine

Educators are always discussing about the increased level of engagement by students using interactive boards. Sales people constantly boast about the interactivity and engagement brought about by the board. However, interactive boards and projectors are seldom used by students. It is high time instructors came off the stage and had their students enjoy a moment of glory.

There are a number of ways that students can be encouraged to interact with the board or projector. Different methods should be worked into teaching schedules and shared in class. As witnessed in one occasion, a teacher was presenting videos clips from students who had shared them with the classroom. It would have been good practice to have the students present their video clips instead of having the teacher present them. In another classroom, the teacher was playing sounds of students’ conversations in a lesson to teach the effect of sound and music on dialogue. In an ideal situation, the teacher should have let the students play their sounds instead of having them watch while he or she played them.

Encourage the students to interact with the interactive board


An interactive classroom is always interesting and engaging for a student. The student is bound to work hard on presentations if they know they will have the opportunity to share it with their class using the interactive board or projector.

9. Do not use the projector as a replacement for the blackboard

If the blackboard or whiteboard in your classroom can be used for instruction, there is no need to use the projector. It is important to know the right tool for the moment to avoid wastage. If you only have brief content like a sentence or two to project, there is no need for the projector. Additionally, when each of your students has a laptop where the content you want to project is available, you do not need to turn on the projector.

When developing your lesson plan, determine if you will need to use the projector during the course of your lesson. Use your blackboard if your content does not warrant using the projector to save the projector bulb or if the content is already available for the students prior to the start of the lesson.

You are bound to save a lot on the projector bulbs.

By critically analyzing the reasons for getting an interactive board, you can redirect the thousands in dollars of savings to relevant technology for your students.




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