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Hi
We have a couple of small 1 to 1 teaching areas in our school. Due to the size its a bit impractical to fit a projector in the room, and a bit expensive to install a short-throw on the wall.
The alternative that has been given to me by the department is a touchscreen monitor (to be used as a cloned 2nd screen, probably wall-mounted) and allow the interactivity with the software packages.
Anyone used these and could make any recommendations / suggestions?
Thanks,
Si
we had a company come and show us some of there touch screen monitors, Accurate is the companys name and they are based in Kent :)
[w] Interactive whiteboards digital technology projectors equipment schools and education uk
[e] sales@accurateav.co.uk
Haven't actually had anything off them as we have no money at the moment but they sounded like a good company and i am sure someone has used them.
James.
How about one of these: Panasonic TY-TP42P10S - Touch-screen - 92 x 51.8... at Insight UK £1453 Education price from there.
Could you go for a really big monitor and a cordless mouse? Certainly cheaper than the other options...
SMART do an add-on for existing flat screens
SMART - For flat-panel displays
or, depending on the size you're looking for, Dell have a touchscreen variant of the Studio One all-in-one PC.
Play.com (UK) : Acer T230H 23" Widescreen Touchscreen LCD Monitor With HDMI : Computing - Free Delivery
Was thinking something more like this?
Hasnt been released yet, but from the description its Win7 ready (multi-touch) and just be used straight away (USB for the interactivity).
Si
Touch screen technology has been going through a growth phase of late and with the release of windows 7 it seems to be the new kid on the block.
A number of new build schools are choosing touch screen LCD over projectors and white boards due to their longevity and the fact that you don't need a projector.
There are a number of emerging screens a couple of which are:
Sahara's cleverLCD - Sahara Presentation Systems > 42" CleverLCD Touch
Vtron - Welcome to VTRON
The Sahara is a cost effective touch screen solution, whereas the VTRON unit has a built in PC as well as being a touch screen.
You need to consider when looking at touch screen that they are a lot more expensive than an IWB/projector combo for the size of screen they deliver. You also need to ensure that the walls are capable of supporting the weight of the screens as they use toughened glass and are extremely heavy.
We replaced all of our student PCs with touchscreen ergo AS1s a year ago, I know not quite the same setup. So long as you keep ontop of calibration they work pretty well and the kids love to use them. You will at least for the forseeable future end up paying more for a large display than the equivalent projector and board setup.
Like i said these are 1 to 1 teaching enviroments in relatively small rooms so 20"+ will be more than enough.
Looking at that Acer + HP L2105tm, reasonably prices and hopefully can wallmount them as a 2nd screen.
Si
oops sorry missed that bit, yep the screens I posted would be well OTT for that.
How important is the touch functionality? A 20" monitor costs about £100 (so a third of the price of that HP thing), and even if you wanted the stylus, you could buy a little design tablet for about £30 and plug that in.
Touch-screen would look nice and all, but IMHO might not be worth the money, unless we're talking for use by infants or kids with mobility issues such as MS.
Why does it need 2 screens if it is 1 to 1?
How about an Asus eeeTop?
22" Touchscreen and a PC all in one? http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-ee....html?q=eeetop
2nd screen would be wall mounted in a interactive whiteboardboard-esque way.Quote:
Originally Posted by localzuk
The staff have interactive software in the department, and have not the space or hardware for a whiteboard setup. So a 2nd cloned monitor would allow normal use of the machine for email / word processing etc... and allow the 2nd screen to be used for the interactivity.
Am i making sense?
Si
Not really, no. Why not just have 1 screen which is used by the kids too? Is the screen usually hidden away somewhere? If it is a small screen, wall mounting for that functionality seems kinda pointless? If it is 1 to 1, why not just have it on the desk with the teacher/pupil at?Quote:
Originally Posted by Psymon
Yeah, I get what you mean. It would require Win7 multi-touch if you wanted kid being interactive at the same time as teacher was doing their word processing of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psymon
I still don't see why a big monitor wouldn't suffice though. How many people when doing 1:1 teaching would want to stand up and deliver it from a whiteboard anyway? Surely one of the reasons to do 1:1 is the more personal approach, so both people sat at the same (big) monitor would be good, using the mouse and/or graphics tablet for any interactivity which is required.
I don't know your specific situation, Psymon, but do check what they are asking for against what they actually need. Do they NEED a wall-mounted touch-screen, or have they just been to a conference and heard about them?