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Some schools are still using traditional methods alone for the purpose of teaching and learning, while other schools are using non-traditional methods including personal computers or interactive boards or both together. In the United Kingdom, the use of interactive white boards (IWBs) in primary schools promotes the use of communications and information technology in learning and teaching (Beauchamp, 2004). Nowadays, learning methods are changing from traditional methods to more interactive methods to enhance the pupils’ engagement and performance (Benlloch et al., 2009; Lai, 2010); at the same time, computers and mobile technologies are becoming very accessible to students both at school and at home (Ng, 2010). Because the digital products are becoming an indispensable part of individuals’ daily lives, learning and entertainment (Meng, 2011), many teachers want to use new applications that integrate visual material such as IWBs, instead of using traditional teaching tools (Simsek and Durdu, 2011) to increase learning capacity and education efficiency (Ertan et al., 2011). The rapid development of computer information technology (Zhang et al., 2012; Behzadi and Manuchehri, 2013), and the widespread use of smart boards (IWBs) have affected educational processes (Xu and Moloney, 2011; Sabo, 2011; Kirali, 2012; Thiyagu, 2015). In USA, during the last decade, more than two million K-12 students used online learning every year (Barbour et al., 2014). In Turkey, much has been invested in IWB educational technology (Balta and Duran, 2015).
The debate about the usefulness of non-traditional teaching methods over traditional teaching methods and their effect on students’ achievement and creativity is still continuing. Because of the effectiveness of the usage of the IWB to facilitate knowledge transfer (bin Hj Sidek and bin Ariffin, 2007), it is receiving more attention as an effective tool for teaching and learning (Athinarayanan and Joshua, 2007), enhancing the quality of lessons, and becoming more interesting and attractive (Buzatu, 2008; Sotiropoulos et al., 2010). The majority of previous studies concluded that IWBs affect education positively (Chen and Sun, 2009) through displaying sophisticated teaching materials, enhancing student-teacher interaction and cooperation (Huang et al., 2009; Liang et al., 2012). Even for individuals with mental retardation and autism (disabled individuals), it creates an interactive environment that enables a rapid response and increases attention (Sahin and Cimen, 2011). The use of IWBs improves the knowledge-building process, and increases interest and participation through social interaction (Faiella, 2013). Tablet Personal Computer (PC) was having a direct impact on students’ learning of Spanish language and literature (Banuelos-Montes and Flores-Silva, 2013), while in Romania, the IWB was used to enable students to build their own knowledge through an interactive learning process (Stoica et al., 2014). The IWB enables the development of learning and teaching instructions, activities and interaction between students and teachers (Esteves et al., 2015). In Malaysian higher education, the use of IWBs help students through reflective cognition and an improved learning experience (Jamil et al., 2016). Through virtual environments, IWBs motivate students and increase their interest (Ullah et al., 2016), enable better understanding and increase academic performance (Hussin et al., 2016). Even in preschools, IWB training increases the knowledge and skills of teachers who teach health education for preschool students (Erawati and Yulianti, 2016). Based on this debate, it seems that it is worth studying this hot topic, and relating it to traditional and non-traditional teaching and learning methods for students’ creativity thinking and their academic achievement (primary school students) in Jordan.