CLASSROOM INDIANA UNIVERSITY
The Idea Garden at Indiana University features a 13.5-foot-wide, 7680x2160, 32-point capable touchscreen that can display multiple computer sources from around the room.
Beyond the Whiteboard This category has grown by leaps and bounds just in the past two years. It’s time to take a new look at interactive displays for higher ed classrooms. By Cindy Davis Talk to many university AV directors and educational technologists who bought into the interactive whiteboard promise five or more years ago, and you’re met with a grumble, and oftentimes, an unwillingness to look at recent advancements that have transformed these once-power-hungry dust collectors into effective collaboration powerhouses.
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Today’s interactive flat panel (IFP) displays are smarter, faster, and offer a variety of embedded features that enhance collaboration in the classroom. “From multi-user functionalities to built-in software and cloud drives, IFPs provide an all-in-one, out-of-box experience to educators,” said Steven Na, senior manager, business planning, Optoma Technologies. With multiple brands and options available, interactive whiteboards are more accessible and more affordably priced. “A key differentiator of modern IFPs is improved image quality and higher resolutions,” Na said. High-definition, and increasingly, ultrahigh-definition 4K TVs are now common in consumer’s homes. “Higher education students expect to see the same quality in display technologies used in the classroom,” Na said. With interactive flat panels now featuring up to 4K image quality, today’s interactive whiteboards produce strong visuals that capture students’ attention, all the way to the back of the lecture hall.” Nearly nine in 10 college students (87 percent) said it was important to them that the institutions they applied to were technology savvy, according to a survey from education technology provider Ellucian. “As the interactive display market continues to grow, the education segment is projected to hold the largest share in the market due to high demand for interactive flat panel displays and interactive whiteboards,” said Saundra Merollo, senior sales engineer for strategic accounts, Sharp Information and Imaging Company of America. “Applications will be for both in and outside of the classroom, from signage and job boards to kiosks and wayfinding.” Less obtrusive form factors, sensors, and durability have become common features. “Slimmer bezels, near-field communication (NFC) readers, 7H tempered glass similar to what is used on highend cell phones with a germ-resistance coating, and even a CO2 sensor being applied to interactive panels—and that’s just the hardware,” said Tom Shih, business manager at BenQ. “Instant message and scheduled broadcasting systems, in conjunction with the traditional PA systems and a one-click collaboration whiteboard are shaping the new foundation of technology within the education sector.” REACTION TIME AND MORE One of the knocks against interactive flat panels of even three years ago was the latency between the time when you touched the screen to when the annotation appeared. “Today the key differen-
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 | av networ k. c om | T H E T ECHNOLOGY MANAGER’S GUID E TO CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY