Supporting K-12 Teachers that Want to Build Their Own Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Interactive Digital Whiteboards

While some K-12 teachers in the U.S. have been given access to interactive digital whiteboards in their classrooms, many others have not. In this paper, we examined a case study in which a teacher built a do-it-yourself (DIY) interactive whiteboard so that he could teach middle school mathematics in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Using this case study as a model, a group of two teachers were provided with the materials and supports necessary to build their own do-it-yourself (DIY) interactive digital whiteboards, similar to those sold by commercial companies such as SmartBoard and Promethean, but at a small fraction of the price. Unique components of each teachers experience were described, and then the teachers were compared on individual components of the process. The case studies demonstrated that each teacher had unique facets to their experience, but there were also common features. These differences helped illustrate what idiosyncratic frustrations might occur during the DIY interactive digital whiteboard building process. The common features point to a possible roadmap of expectations regarding other similar undertakings by teachers to build a DIY interactive digital whiteboard.