W: E. Baron-Polanczyk, ICT in Educational Design. Processes, Materials, Resources. Vol. 5, Zielona Gora 2014 / \NNA BROSCH C hair of E ar l y School Educat ion and M ass M edia Education Univer sit y of Sil esia Poland INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD - A MODERN EDUCATIONAL TOOL OR AN EXPENSIVE GADGET? Abstrac t An interactive whiteboard is an incredibly attractive educational tool as it is provided with functions that other means do not have (even a computer in terfaced to a multimedia projector), for example, downloading notes from the whiteboard into the computer memory, playing movies with the possibility of note taking directly on individual frames, working with computer applications on the whiteboard surface. Using the above mentioned facilities, this modern teaching aid facilitates combining a traditional lecture with a presentation of multimedia materials which a teacher has. However, new educational tools require using new methods. This article is an attempt to answer a question about the place and role of an interactive whiteboard in the modern school - is it really an effective educational tool and how often is it used in the classroom. Keywords: interactive whiteboard, digital competence, teaching method. Introduc tion In the contemporary society known as the information society (T. G oban-K las and P. Sienkiewicz, 1999, p. 35), a key role is played by technologies related to gathering and processing information. Nowadays knowledge is strategically meaningful because it is created and gained in order to be used in everyday life; therefore, more attention is being paid to investing strictly in knowledge. According to the study conducted in the wealthiest countries around the world, increase in know-how is conducive to national income increasing by as much as 25% (J. Kosmala, 2009, pp. 13-15).