Interactive Display-Important Choice

An interactive display is a tool that allows multiple people to engage in a collaborative experience using a touchscreen to take notes, annotate content, and more.

Many schools and districts have invested heavily in interactive whiteboards (IWBs) for their classrooms. But when these IWBs reach their end-of-life and are ready for replacement, schools must decide whether to purchase new ones or go a different route for their classroom projection systems.  

For schools ready to replace their old IWBs, this article are going to talk about some other good alternatives to consider:

Flat Panel Displays  

Essentially large screen televisions, when connected to a computing device - wirelessly or with a cable - they offer a clear, high-definition (HD) image. The LED technologies used in these displays continue to advance, and the display costs are going down. 

Interactive Flat Panel Displays 

They appear to be flat panel displays, but they have touchscreen features that make them interactive in the same manner as IWBs with mounted projectors. 

Interactive Whiteboards

Special pens are no longer needed and one can operate the board with just the touch of a finger.

Also IWBs allow users to connect to them with wireless devices to project their screen image on the board from throughout the classroom.

Interactive Projectors

There is also another interesting alternative to IWB’s: Interactive projectors — like the Epson BrightLink — that display an interactive image onto almost any clean, flat white surface, like a classroom wall or whiteboard.

On a promising note, digital display and projection technologies are advancing at a rapid pace, and there are more and better options than there were five years ago. And one can foresee a not-too-distant future with excellent and affordable wall-size classroom display solutions. However, in the interim, schools are still faced with making hard choices.