The use of interactive whiteboards is gaining increasing acceptance in schools, despite high price tags often pushing them up above the $3,000 mark. One of the things pounded into our heads as technology trainers is that technology is only as good as the user. This is particularly important with expensive technology, as it can quickly become a wasted resource in the wrong hands. Several books have been written by ed tech critics decrying wasteful spending in schools, and such criticism can pose formidable challenges to raising support for additional funding.

Last night on the SNL election special, I watched a hilarious example of the misuse of high-end technology. Fred Armisen used an electoral map to accomplish absolutely nothing of significance. The larger point of the skit probably revolved around the pointlessness of political analysis by the media, but using high tech to accomplish nothing provided a beautiful example of how not to use interactive whiteboards in the classroom.

A couple of funny moments: zooming in on Ohio for a “closer look,” only to stare at the rooftop of a warehouse; taking a look at Oregon by moving it out in the ocean; moving Minnesota over Virginia (“Imagine the sheer weight of it”).

Interactive whiteboards are one of the next big things for classroom gaming. We’ve seen efforts at creating them on the cheap using simple laser pointers and the Wiimote. A commenter to that post pointed out a new classroom MMO called Edusim3D, which is an open-source virtual world students access through whiteboards.

Anyway, take a look at Armisen’s skit here. You have to fast forward through a couple minutes of Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers to get to Armisen’s bit. This skit would be good to play in training to make the point that technology empowers teachers, but only if it is used well. By itself, technology (even interactive gaming technology) is worthless.