Anyone using Plasma/LCD in classrooms instead of IWB's

[Kyle]

Was just wondering if anyone is using a bog standard Plasma screen connected to the PC for display purposes in a classroom environment? We are thinking of doing this in some of the smaller classes that don't warrant a IWB. We are also planning to put a Apple TV with it as most of our staff have a iPad. Anyone using these in such a way to keep costs down instead of a full IWB & Projector install?

[twin--turbo]

Yeah we have them on trollies and on walls

 

Large 55" LG LED's

 

Much crisper and brighter than projectors.

 

We also have so interactive TV's too.

 

Rob

[vyperz]

We are using a lot of Sahara CleverTouch interactive screens. They come in slightly cheaper than a IWB & Projector and don't have the ongoing projector maintenance. Seesm to be pretty good so far.

[twin--turbo]

We are using a lot of Sahara CleverTouch interactive screens. They come in slightly cheaper than a IWB & Projector and don't have the ongoing projector maintenance. Seesm to be pretty good so far.

 

Yeah what we have, just had 5 out of 10 repaird though due to faulty usb-serial converters inside.

 

Rob

[BKGarry]

We have 3 65" Toughened Glass screens from VII networks, and they are great, (although not the cheapest) they use the standard windows drivers and the screen quality is great, especially on the HDMI inputs. They do smaller and larger sizes.

[twin--turbo]

We have 3 65" Toughened Glass screens from VII networks, and they are great, (although not the cheapest) they use the standard windows drivers and the screen quality is great, especially on the HDMI inputs. They do smaller and larger sizes.

 

Did you have problems with non tough before hand?

 

Rob

[BKGarry]

never had them beforehand, just wanted to minimise any risk of damage

[pickman]

We have 4 Samsung 51" in our portakabins.

 

Not bought by me and have no VGA connectors ( had to use converters) main problem with them is reflection from sunlight acts like a mirror also students to the side of the classroom have trouble seeing

 

Currently looking at replacing whiteboards with screens but not convinced

[Cemito]

We are using a lot of Sahara CleverTouch interactive screens. They come in slightly cheaper than a IWB & Projector and don't have the ongoing projector maintenance. Seesm to be pretty good so far.

 

How much you get this for? would love to go for the screens instead of the whiteboards but was always told they cost more than IWB and projector.

[RichCowell]

We've got interactive TVs in a few rooms which as someone else has said are far brighter, clearer, and don't need filters cleaning or lamps replacing...

 

An alternative to Apple TV is to use AirServer, which needs installing on the PC, but is software based and shows up the same on the iPads as Apple TV does... We've got 45 licences for it, and have some problems picking all machines up sometimes, I've known others that have used it without the same problems...

[localzuk]

We have a few of the 65" Sahara Clever Touch screens here and we've had zero issues with them.

 

We got them at about £3.5k each, but I believe the price has dropped further since then.

 

However, we since decided that they were still a little expensive for us and went with Epson EB-485wi short throw interactive projectors instead.

 

Note: If you are SMART users, you'll have issues with the SMART Notebook software. It will display a big watermark if you have a non-SMART interactive device connected with it open, unless you buy a 'collaborative license' yearly, which cost £800+ per such device IIRC.

[MicrodigitUK]

We have stopped purchasing IWB’s and have gone for the large touch screens now available.

 

After looking at several brands and testing different types we are currently purchasing the Sahara Clevertouch 65”, 55” and (for the really small classes) 46” screens.

We found the 65” screens to be large enough as the image is much sharper than a traditional projectors. 55" was just a bit to small.

 

Products in Large Format Interactive Displays | Sahara Presentation Systems PLC

 

We made shore these were all Sahara Clevertouch 3rd generation so that they come with the freeze frame option like most projectors do. Teachers really missed this on the first test screen we purchased, as some touch screens don’t have this function.

 

We purchased them from Hugh Symons in Bournemouth: Audio & Visual Products & Services

 

Some points for you to consider about these type of screens.

 

a. General feedback on the screen was very good, with everyone agreeing the screen was much nicer to look at and easier to read text on than a projector and IWB.

b. The cost of the screen was £1-3k depending on size, but these costs are already coming down. It should work out cheaper than a projector/IWB over the lifespan of the product.

c. The screen is fitted with toughened glass and is very hard to break; the whole unit is designed to be very rugged.

d. The flow and continuity of teaching is greatly improved as there is little need to use a mouse, you do not stand in the beam of the projector, and there are no shadows cast on the screen.

e. The board is supplied with a pen but works with any touch implement as it uses optical recognition. The only downside of this is that bracelets or a fly walking on the board are also detected, but this is normally not a major issue.

f. Sound quality on the board is very good, and a dedicated set of desktop speakers should not be needed.

g. The board only comes with one remote and there are no physical power or volume buttons on the screen itself, which could cause problems if the remote is lost or misplaced.

h. The board does come with its own IWB software called Lynx, but our school decided to use a standardised IWB solution across the site. We have started a big push to use Open Sankoré a free interactive whiteboard software on all of our new screens. Open Sankoré | The Free Interactive Whiteboard Software

i. We had issues with some staff persistence to use Interactive Whiteboard Software licenced only to run if it is used on a machine connected to the board it was sold with(i.e. Starboard with a Hitachi board, ActivStudio with a Promethean board and Notebook with a Smart board). We didn’t want Lynx IWB software to add to that so deliberately decided not to installed it.

[timtom]

Last summer instead of replacing 4 projectors I put in one interactive C-Touch board and in the other 3 rooms plain LG 50" TV's. Despite the 50"'s being smaller the picture and quality is so much better and everyone all round is happy. Although I made sure I had support from the relevant teachers first rather than risk causing problems. In general I'm going to be putting in TV's now instead of projectors. Mostly just something like LG 50/60" displays and not the toughened variety. The one interactive C-Touch board we bought was around £3.5k and I don't think I'll be putting those in again, waste of money I feel

[Chris_]

We've recently got a Iiyama 42" multi-touch screen, partly because it came out cheaper than a IWB and projector, and it was going to be easier to install lower down for the children in reception to use and be able to make use of the whole interactive area. I saw a picture of a Promethean board online and the children can only make use of half the board!! (source: Using Interactive Whiteboards with young children | Technowellies Weblog)

 

As others have said, much crisper and brighter than projectors.

[TechSupp]

We have a few of the 65" Sahara Clever Touch screens here and we've had zero issues with them.

 

We got them at about £3.5k each, but I believe the price has dropped further since then.

 

However, we since decided that they were still a little expensive for us and went with Epson EB-485wi short throw interactive projectors instead.

 

Note: If you are SMART users, you'll have issues with the SMART Notebook software. It will display a big watermark if you have a non-SMART interactive device connected with it open, unless you buy a 'collaborative license' yearly, which cost £800+ per such device IIRC.

 

Just out of interest what happens if you just install the smartnotebook software only? We only have smartboards but looking at other options now as the OP has stated as well.

[Kyle]

Yeah we have them on trollies and on walls

 

Large 55" LG LED's

 

Much crisper and brighter than projectors.

 

We also have so interactive TV's too.

 

Rob

 

 

What sort of price were these?

[northeast_technician]

We are using a product called Iboard they have an optional intergrated pc which is removable

[jmak]

Just out of interest what happens if you just install the smartnotebook software only? We only have smartboards but looking at other options now as the OP has stated as well.

 

Depends whether you get prosecuted or not it's breaking the terms of the licence.

 

I believe that the watermarking feature is in smart notebook itself from v11 onwards.