IR or EM whiteboards - which is the better option?

[iscott]

We are looking into getting new interactive whiteboards, and are not sure whether the seemingly new swathe of IR boards which seem to have come out on the market are a better option than the electromagnetic options? From what I have heard the EM boards if a part of the board 'dies' then you need to replace the whole board whereas with the IR option you are only looking at replacing a small part.

 

If someone can provide some insight into their experiences on this it would help us.

 

Our situation is a school in India so the systems need to be able to cope with higher than average temperatures (35oC - 40oC +, sunlight and extreme damp during monsoon season). We have had Promethean boards installed for the past 5 years (trial basis, few select classrooms to test) and they seem to have been ok so far.

 

My only concern is that we're looking at rolling out across more classrooms so the level of awareness and care of the hardware most likely will be less. Are IR boards more 'robust'?