Looking for opinions on replacing IWB/projectors

[Duranis]

Currently I have 16 rooms that are running some form of projector (mix of epson's with 1 short throw) and a Smart IWB. They are mostly working well but a few of the projectors are coming to end of life and I'm trying to work out what the best course of action for replacement is. Just looking for peoples opinions, espically anyone that has been using touchscreens for a decent period of timer and can comment on their reliability (seen a lot of issues with Smarts ones for example which is putting me off).

 

Ideally I would love to just dump them all and get 65" touch panels in. Given that my budget is around £10k though and I might need to replace our wifi infrastructure soon at best I could probably only do 1 or 2 rooms with screens this year.

 

At least 2 projectors need replacing now (one is in a meeting room though and not essential) and one is in a room that has a lot of direct sunlight for the whole day so need something that is bright and can deal with glare. The IWB's are working fine so would you try and push for touchscreen panels (if so are there any proven models around the 65" size) or would you go for a short throw or lampless model?

 

The situation as SLT are likely to see it though is:

Spend £400 and replace the projector, life goes on as normal.

Spend around a grand for a short throw or lampless one, minor upgrade but pretty much life as normal.

Spend around £3k for a touch panel for 1 room. If it doesn't work out then we have one room with an unhappy teacher. If it does work out we have 15 rooms using old equipment with unhappy teachers

 

What would you recommend?

[RichCowell]

There's quite a lot of things to possibly comment on / answer there... so I'll kick off the replies with what I'd opt for...

 

1. CTouch Interactive TVs - we've got 3 and they're awesome, the teachers using them love them, and we've had no issues with them since installing them.

 

2. Epson Interactive Projectors - I've got NEC ones, but they require a rechargeable pen and the software with them isn't great, I've seen the Epson ones at their HQ and they're pretty impressive, very responsive and great tools... Epson kit also comes with a licence for Smart Notebook, and cheap updates for 3 years I think...

 

3. Casio lampless projectors... I've had one on loan from them for ages for the ANME so use it at meetings etc. and I've recently replaced a projector in school with a Casio and it's fantastic - I'm definitely going to start replacing projectors with them in the future...

 

Obviously depends on budgets and need, but they're the three I'd go for if budget allows...

[Lonix]

We've been in a similar situation.

 

I've spent a lot of time talking with teachers/heads to find out what they use and it turns out that primarily one department heavily uses IWBs. We've been slowly walking away from them for a bit and as a result I don't budget plan for them but I do contingency plan for them.

 

It even come to a point where the head of ICT asked for two of them to be removed, so they could have normal whiteboards. In total I've pulled out 6 in 12 months and installed no extras. The one dept that heavily uses them though I will continue to replace as of needed.

 

So our plan is £350 for a projector at the moment, after fighting really good prices on our current model with good cheap bulbs. I can't complain too much.

[craig-schools]

We use the Epson Interactive Projectors on Standard 8" x 4" whiteboards. means the teachers can use normal whiteboard pens on the board if they want, project on to it and if they want to interact use the interactive pen. Had some of them in for 3 years now and had no major issues. We have 3yr lamp warranty on them and had a few lamps that started flickering despite the usage and Epson sent out lamps next day. Pens needing batteries isnt too bad either, ours seem to last a decent time.

[Townsend]

I don't think there will be any issues with it not working - and you can do a LOT better than 3 grand!

[mikeprice]

We have been discussing this recently - we have to have 2 new classrooms working by Sept (primary )

 

However as these may only be needed form a few years the Head is reluctant to spend loads of money on them (something to do with me spending all the IT budget on wireless stuff, computer, projectors etc etc)

 

Also - the price of interactive panels has come down a lot recently and 9I think) will continue to fall.

 

Hence we are going to muddle through with second hand Smart Boards for a couple og years and look to replace them all then

 

BTW - if anyone has any old Smartboards lying around we would love to have a couple

Please

pretty please

 

xxx

 

 

Mike