Raghuraman Column | Smart Boards vs Blackboards in Education System

N. Raghuraman, Management Guru

We are living in such an era where knowledge can be available at just one click. An inspired teacher can instantly show the world’s best ideas, videos and illustrations in the classroom, which will astonish the students. That is why it is not surprising that in the last decade, educational institutions – mostly private schools and now government schools – have invested heavily in smart boards.

Technology was expected to transform teaching. Instead of spending precious time writing on the blackboard, teachers can show animations or videos by simply swiping to the next slide, keeping the entire class engaged. This also improved discipline.

Since the teacher does not have to turn his back to write on the board again and again, there are less opportunities for naughty students to distract them. In a small survey conducted by me a few years ago, teachers said that they save 11 to 15 minutes in a 50-60 minute class with the help of smart board. Schools felt that now the entire class time would be spent on teaching instead of writing.

But unfortunately this expectation is often limited to a policy document. Take the example of Goa. According to the Union Education Ministry’s Unified District Information System for Education (UDICE) Report 2025-26, Goa is among the select states and union territories like Delhi and Chandigarh where all 1,473 schools reportedly have internet connectivity. But media reports say that teachers in many schools are forced to use smart boards like normal blackboards because internet connectivity is non-reliable or unavailable.

Teachers say that the government is promoting technology-based education, but due to non-reliable internet and frequent power cuts, they become helpless. Classes with smart boards have to be held only during hours when electricity and internet are available. The problem increases further during monsoon. As a result, it is impossible to show educational videos and interactive content, although this has been emphasized in the National Education Policy-2020.

However, infrastructure is only part of the problem. During my visits to many schools and colleges, I saw another challenge. Many teachers are not trained to use smart boards effectively. For example, some teachers opt out of the entire PowerPoint presentation so they can jot down a few points on a blank white screen.

They don’t know that they can add their comments directly on the presentation itself. Modern smart boards have hundreds of features like digital annotations, interactive quizzes, live web access, and instant content sharing. But many teachers use them just as they used blackboards. As a result, an expensive digital classroom becomes just an electronic writing surface.

Education does not become better through technology alone. For this, reliable infrastructure, continuous teacher training and willingness to adopt new teaching methods are also necessary. Otherwise even the smartest board will remain a blackboard.

It is also sad to see that many teachers use ball pen caps instead of stylus to write on the smart board. Such careless attitude of teachers towards expensive accessories indirectly inspires children to adopt negative behavior towards the devices brought by parents at home. Teachers should remember that their respect for the infrastructure provided by the institution and their body language also teaches children how to respect government property.

The bottom line is that Purchasing and installing a smart board is the first step. Unless institutions ensure reliable internet, uninterrupted electricity and regular teacher training, these expensive tools will not be able to provide the engaging, time-saving and visually rich learning experience they are designed to provide.

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