I recently acquired an interactive whiteboard for my Year 3 class. The design and function lends itself to helping children of all levels in virtually every subject. However, most of the children were too short to reach the top quarter of the board when asked to perform drag operations - and sticky fingers were creating stains on my new whiteboard.

I incorporated my hobby - magic - and made a magic wand. My years of watching Blue Peter had finally come to fruition. A dowel stick, sticky-back black and white felt for a soft tactile feel, and we had “a magic wand”.

It solved the problems and generated more enthusiasm for using the whiteboard. It was so popular I had to make three more for colleagues. The rules for using the wand are: only one person at a time may use it and nobody tells the holder of the wand what to do - they have to learn from their own mistakes. It has made a great impact on my class and we’ve all had great fun using it.

Chris Hansford

Year 3 teacher at Dereham St Nicholas Junior School, Norfolk