Guide To The Types Of Interactive Whiteboards For The Education Sector

As you are probably aware, long gone are squeaky chalk blackboards

, shouting across the class room and shaky out of focus overhead projectors and now we have entered the world of classroom technology. New technologies have altered the way we teach and the way students absorb information.

Interactive whiteboards are the norm in classrooms with information fed from PC or laptop via a short throw projector to the screen. There are two types of interactive whiteboard on the market at the moment. The first has a membrane screen which consists of two layers of membrane laid onto a solid back board.

When a pen or finger is passed over the screen the membranes are pressed together thus creating a contact point which is relayed back to the PC or laptop, which in turn alters the display.

The main disadvantages of this type of board is that because of the time lapse between the pen moving across the screen, the membranes touching together and the information passed back to the input source, there is a significant delay in the display updating.

Also, there is a chance of the membranes being damaged by heavy handedness and wear on the membrane contacts. The second type of interactive whiteboard does not use membranes but utilises infra-red technology.

Around the edge of the screen are strips of IR emitters which transmit across the board to strips of IR receivers. When you pass either a pen or your finger across the board you break the emitted rays of IR, this breaking of the IR miniature arrays is captured and in turn fed back to the input source.

The advantages of this system is that the display response has very little lag, there is nothing on the back board to damage and the IR strip are not only long lasting but are easily replaced. Both types of boards are supplied with the manufactures software which allows the user to interact the boards to a stand alone computer or laptop, and both have various different features which need to be taken into account before deciding which suits your requirements.

Both types of interactive whiteboard have the same accessories including interactive slates and hand held voting units. The interactive slate is the teachers ideal tool which allows them to walk around the classroom and still interact and control the whiteboard. It allows you to change the image, write text, draw, change pen colour and control the content wirelessly from anywhere in the room.

The slate is approximately twelve inchs square, dependant on manufacture, light weight and uses rechargeable batteries. The hand held voting units are for the pupils themselves. They allow the pupils to answer yes or no and even type in responses to questions asked by the teacher by using the well renowned and frequently used telephone keypad layout which is easy for pupils to use as the letters are in texting format.

The hand held voting units are not only easy for the pupils to use but they are also very important for the teachers as the pupils have to log on to the unit they are given, and this means that all their answers are recorded for evaluation either during the class or at a later date.

The voting units are light weight, have a display and can be recharged using a docking station. They are sold in packs of 32 and 64 and come with software and a docking station for recharging.

As said previously both types of interactive whiteboard are very effective in the classroom and the pricing of both units are very competitive against each other with the infra red unit slightly cheaper but the membrane units produced by more well known manufacturers.

by: Suzy Powell

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