As I am a very public unbeliever in IWBs, I was one of the invitees at Promethean’s recent prototype demonstration at their Tokyo office. If it really is available in three to four years as they say it will be, I might be ready to change my mind. Here are some of the features:
– Absolutely silent
– No danger of eyestrain
– Very low energy use
– You can use as many pens as you like on it at the same time
– An end to those problems where the places where the pen and cursor are don’t match up
– Much easier control of the eraser, including instant switch between writing and erasing just by using different hands
– Ditto with switching between different coloured pens
– Cheap and easy to obtain pens, meaning you can have a large number in each classroom and so replace ones that don’t work at any time
– Far fewer problems with visibility when there is glare from the window, so far less need to block out natural light
– Increased reliability means that you don’t have to go in to the classroom half an hour early to get check the equipment
– Works even when the computer has broken down
– You can Blutack and sellotape things to it
Apparently they are thinking of calling it “the whiteboard”.
More on IWBs:
15 reasons why an OHP is better than an IWB
Completely meaningless TEFL research results Part One
15 things not to do with an interactive whiteboard – LINK FIXED
TEFLtastic 
First, I giggled. I just cannot see the point of an IWB – not when you can use a computer and beam crap on to a whiteboard anyway… but then I thought to myself, ya – know I have only used one once, who I am to say. Bet there were folks around – my God, I think I was one of them – who resisted the move from blackboard to whiteboard -the glare bothered me in certain light, and in the beginning the markers were neither plentiful nor cheap and they stank.
Hmm… the world changes, sometimes we’ve just gotta let go.
K