Just chalk it up to innovation

"It's all about getting people to want to learn and realizing how beneficial and fun it is to learn," Mr. Elliott says. "This can transform the classroom totally. It is something here to stay.

"Every progressive school district across the country is looking seriously at this," he says. "It is something that students love and teachers love. There is so much you can do with its creativity."

Learners today are quite different than a few years ago, says Nancy Knowlton, chief executive officer of Smart Technologies in Calgary, Alberta. Her husband, David Martin, invented the Smart Board interactive whiteboard. The company competes with Promethean.

"They are so visually oriented, so to tap into the visual learning style is absolutely mandatory," Ms. Knowlton says. "That is how you will engage children. It's only when you engage them that they can actually learn."

Teachers' willingness to learn how to use the new technology is a must, she says. Because children only get one chance for education, educational professionals owe it to the children to figure out how to teach in today's language.

"If teachers don't have strategies to use the whiteboards, you are spending money without it being returned," Ms. Knowlton says. "There are bright and capable children today that are not engaged and not reaching their potential because of their learning styles and interests."

Interactive whiteboards are the blackboards of the 21st century, says Renee Henderson, instructional technology specialist in the information technology office at Prince George's County Public Schools.

The school district has had Smart Boards for at least five years, she says. It also uses Promethean boards throughout its schools.

Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights and J. Frank Dent Elementary School in Fort Washington are technology showcase schools, where every classroom has a whiteboard, she says.

"Children are used to things being active, interactive, visual and responsive," Ms. Henderson says. "It really changes the environment of a classroom from the teacher being the center and focus to students participating more actively in their instruction."