Interactive whiteboards - What do I need to know.

[Picard]

We're planning to buy some for next year.

Should we look at the rear projection whiteboards or the normal whiteboards with the image displayed through a seperate dataprojector.

I imagine the whiteboards with the small laser-grid interface module that attaches to the whiteboard and a seperate data projector might be cheaper than the all-in-one flat whiteboard with the rear projection.

What's your experience about the reliability of these different setups and also the longevity and of course costs.

 

[graviti]

TouchScreen whiteboards with the separate projector are a waste of time. More gimmick than anything else.

Either get

1. A tablet device at your PC
2. A touch screen monitor and VGA splitter which shows same image on projector
3. Rear-mounted projector

The reason I say this. Imagine your are trying to connect to points with a straight line. You go to board to join dots, but all of a sudden you can't see them. Because the dots are now on your back. You learn to adapt by standing a small distance away from the point you want to work with, but you look a little spastic. Some people love it, I just found that it slowed my productivity as a teacher. I use half of option 2, in that I don't have a touch screen monitor, but having the monitor next to my desk which replicates what the students see behind me means I never have to turn my back to them, I can maintain eye contact, and I can see raised hands straight away.

I'm aiming at getting a 10" Android and setting up a VNC session with my desktop, allowing me to walk around the classroom and control the desktop from wherever. This gives me the best of both worlds in my opinion. Just waiting for a decent VNC client for Android.

Android Tablet + WIFI in classroom + desktop + Data Projector + Speakers covers me for pretty much all my needs. I can be a lot more interactive with the kids.

 

[Picard]

Bump

Anyone else with some firsthand experience regarding the pros and cons of the different technologies and else maybe some advice?

 

[Guantanamo]

My school had set up one of those smart screen/boards in the primary school. Worked decently until someone comes in, forgets it isn't a normal whiteboard and uses a marker on it. The smartest option is a whiteboard with the e-beam and a separate projector. Try get as high a quality projector as possible. My school used crappy 800x600 ones and it made life difficult if you were further back in the class. Also with the separate projector you can connect an iPad/ laptop and use that too. I have found if teachers were using the projector they weren't really writing much anyway.