What Interactive Touchscreens are people using?

[PrimaryNetMan]

@woody The problem with your strategy is that all of the commercial quality displays have touch built in. To get a TV without touch you'll pay less but it will also be a domestic TV and not designed to run 8hrs per day. Getting touch screen devices is great (all our teachers and students have touch-enabled chromebooks) but we still need interactive displays.

 

Plenty of commercial displayed designed to run as digital signage available. Consumer TV will still be running long after a projector has gone through a bulb or 2.

[mjk]

Plenty of commercial displayed designed to run as digital signage available. Consumer TV will still be running long after a projector has gone through a bulb or 2.

 

When we looked they were about the same price as the interactive displays so it didn't seem worth it. Not sure I would agree about putting in consumer TV's - They would be a royal pain if you had to replace a lot of them and couldn't get the same model. I think I would rather stick to commercial display with a 5yr warranty, it's too much of a problem when displays go down for us.

[christhetech]

When we looked they were about the same price as the interactive displays so it didn't seem worth it. Not sure I would agree about putting in consumer TV's - They would be a royal pain if you had to replace a lot of them and couldn't get the same model. I think I would rather stick to commercial display with a 5yr warranty, it's too much of a problem when displays go down for us.

 

Agree 100% with this. Consumer TVs tend to change quite rapidly, and it would be an absolute nightmare trying to keep it all standard throughout the school. There is also the warranty issue. Generally consumer TVs are not designed for the sort of use and abuse that they would get plonked on a classroom wall. It's an ideal "get out of jail free card" for the manufacturer, should an issue arise. They also tend to come with 12 month RTB warranties, rather than multiple year on-site support, so if anything did go wrong, you have the added stress of taking it down off the wall, packaging it up and returning to the manufacturer's appointed repairer, who will likely just knock the repair back anyway, leaving you without a screen in your classroom. More hassle than it's worth IMHO! Also, if you are buying a consumer unit, it will likely have a TV tuner, which raises a potential TV licensing issue if the school do not have any existing licensed TVs on site.

[atcoates]

Smart do sell a non touch screen that has built in wireless screen sharing.

 

https://education.smarttech.com/en/products/2000-series

 

The SMART Board 2000 series is designed for classrooms that need more than just a basic display.

 

Wireless screen-sharing and non-touch design make the 2000 series perfect for showing lessons and presentations from all sorts of devices. 4K Ultra HD resolution makes those same lessons and presentations look amazing.

Edited June 19, 2018 by atcoates

[mjk]

Further to the point about wireless screen sharing - one of the techniques that our staff and students use is to take advantage of the built in features of Chrome Cast for Education.

 

https://support.google.com/edu/castforedu/?hl=en

 

[BenQ_Support]

@woody The problem with your strategy is that all of the commercial quality displays have touch built in. To get a TV without touch you'll pay less but it will also be a domestic TV and not designed to run 8hrs per day. Getting touch screen devices is great (all our teachers and students have touch-enabled chromebooks) but we still need interactive displays.

 

We (BenQ) offer 65" / 75" / 86" commercial 4K UHD display's suitable for up to 18hrs per day with commercial warranties. Price is somewhere in-between a consumer TV and our interactive range.

 

Screen-sharing easily done either with our own app or 3rd party software/hardware solutions.

 

My only advice to schools is that typically non-interactive commercial displays do not come with toughened glass. Some schools have felt its worth the additional cost to have a more solid screen even if they wont use the touch function fully.

[CalmBlueOcean]

We (BenQ) offer 65" / 75" / 86" commercial 4K UHD display's suitable for up to 18hrs per day with commercial warranties. Price is somewhere in-between a consumer TV and our interactive range.

 

Screen-sharing easily done either with our own app or 3rd party software/hardware solutions.

 

My only advice to schools is that typically non-interactive commercial displays do not come with toughened glass. Some schools have felt its worth the additional cost to have a more solid screen even if they wont use the touch function fully.

 

 

Hi Adrian.

 

Have you got any links for the 75" non-touch model?

You mention toughened glass being important - do you know if the SMART Board 2075 mentioned earlier has this?

 

Thanks!

[BenQ_Support]

Hi Adrian.

 

Have you got any links for the 75" non-touch model?

You mention toughened glass being important - do you know if the SMART Board 2075 mentioned earlier has this?

 

Thanks!

Hi,

 

https://business-display.benq.com/en-gb/findproduct/signage/smart-signage/st750k.html

 

I'm not sure about the SMART product but i'm sure a smart reseller would be able to advise you.

[adrianlee]

We are a state secondary and have begun migration from ancient SMART boards to epson short throws - eb 695wi. They have ir recognition which works well with the Epson IR pen. Replacement pens are very expensive but we can make them for a few pounds - just an ir led. No panel of any sort is required, just a wall or normal whiteboard if you prefer.

 

The epsons also have gesture recognition option but we don't believe its fit for purpose yet as its insanely fiddly to set up and you need an incredibly flat surface, but the teachers seem very happy just to use the pen so we are not bothering with it.

Basically iwb's should become irrelevant for us and for what its worth, the Epsons currently come with with SMART Notebook licences and a 5 year bulb warranty ! but do check all these details with your suppliers in case the offering has shifted.

 

Cheers

[saggu]

Any one using Genee 4k?

[gaz350b]

If you are not worried about software and looking for hardware only have a look at avocor they do a good range of screens and features.

[saggu]

software is a concern too. Presently using smart but they charge a lot if we use in different make interactive panel

[sigma]

Any one using Genee 4k?

 

Yes.

 

I work in a number of schools. After presentations and trials of a number of brands, the High School settled on Genee.

One primary has settled on Clevertouch which I dislike because of the Lynx software. A number of staff are still using Smart notebook though.

One bought Iiyama and still uses Smart notebook.

One has two Smart touchscreens but they have been problematic and are now buying Genee.

The last is upgrading ancient Smart boards to Genee over the summer.

 

Whatever you buy try and get a trial and staff to use it first.

[christhetech]

Any one using Genee 4k?

 

Funnily enough, I got an email from one of our current suppliers, who is offering these out to schools on a promotion at the moment. I have been considering getting one in on demo, as I've heard a lot of very decent stuff about them. The one that our supplier was offering to me was a 65" 4k model, which would be fine for the couple of smaller clasrooms that I would possibly be looking at doing over the summe, but they do larger sizes too, so if they are any good, I may see if I can wangle another couple of classrooms with larger ones later in the year, even if they are on a lease.

[saggu]

Funnily enough, I got an email from one of our current suppliers, who is offering these out to schools on a promotion at the moment. I have been considering getting one in on demo, as I've heard a lot of very decent stuff about them. The one that our supplier was offering to me was a 65" 4k model, which would be fine for the couple of smaller clasrooms that I would possibly be looking at doing over the summe, but they do larger sizes too, so if they are any good, I may see if I can wangle another couple of classrooms with larger ones later in the year, even if they are on a lease.

 

Let me know what you thought about it. and if you chose to buy what was the price. I am thinking of buying exact the same model but wanted some views.

[Brimstone]

Have you asked the staff why they aren't using the IWBs? Obviously it differs from school to school but there would be outcry in our school if we took away out interactive SMART displays now.

 

Meh.....

 

This is the situation with at least 90% of schools that use IWB's staff generally get zero training, software updates cause problems etc, etc. So they don't get used and in my opinion provide zero impact on learning in the classroom.

 

I've got plenty of schools who have ripped out all the IWB's and replaced with far cheaper, more reliable LCD Tv's. No software training required, they either turn off or on, plenty of connectors for casting to the screen via Chrome, iPad or laptop.

 

As as for comments saying consumer units don't last I have one school who invested in these 7 years ago, no problems ever reported with them.

[sarahstacey]

We use Prowise 65" screens. Well built and work really well.

We have them with the PC module slotted in the back.

 

https://www.prowise.com/en/touchscreens/

 

Yes, us too. We have 3 and 1 on order. Can't fault them.

[christhetech]

Let me know what you thought about it. and if you chose to buy what was the price. I am thinking of buying exact the same model but wanted some views.

 

Will do. I've got Geneeworld coming over this week with a demo unit for me to have a look at. I've spoken to the account manager that I normally deal with at our existing AV supplier and he was really enthusiastic about the Genee boards. He reckons that for the money, they are superb and thinks that once I've seen it in action, I'll be taking a few off him.

[Clevertouch_Rob]

Yes.

One primary has settled on Clevertouch which I dislike because of the Lynx software. A number of staff are still using Smart notebook though.

 

Whats the reason you dislike Lynx?

[sigma]

It's supposed to import from Smart Notebook but is flakey, where schools have a slow broadband connection it's horrendous to download, registration has been painful - per user per PC. One teacher had problems having created content on one version of Lynx that didn't work properly on the next. It's just been too hard to get staff onside with it.

[christhetech]

Let me know what you thought about it. and if you chose to buy what was the price. I am thinking of buying exact the same model but wanted some views.

We had Genneeworld in yesterday with their 65" 4K screen & I think that it's superb. I got a couple of the teachers who like the Promethean units that we already have in on the demo too for them to critique it, as I know that they will tell me if they aren't happy with it and they couldn't find any fault with it at all - they even said that they found it even more intuitive than the Promethean screens.

I spoke to our existing AV supplier after the demo to get some idea of pricing, and they're coming in at £2,095. It's just a case of squeezing some money out of the bean counters now to get a couple bought and installed over the summer. The bursar knows I'm going to have a chat with her today about money, so it won't be a big shock to her. We currently have six Interactive boards, with the rest of the classrooms already fitted with Promethean screens. Ideally, I'd like to replace all six of the boards with Interactive screens, and the Genee 4K units are as good as anything that I've seen. I don't hold out any hope of getting £12k to spend though, but I think I can convince her to let me lease them. The classrooms that they are going into are a couple of the smaller classrooms in the school, so 65" 4K units will be more than adequate...

 

 

...wish me luck!

[woody]

If I were going for 65" then it would be worth having a look at the M-Touch which is a no frills version of the Clever touch. They are considerably cheaper:

 

https://www.avpartsmaster.co.uk/p-68794-m-touch-65-interactive-touch-screen.aspx?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm6HaBRCbARIsAFDNK-g2P2c-Zm6ZdBt1JdZGRz1-lSXZk9bn3CeESMBRKywIzh7oUHjFn5IaAn5sEALw_wcB#fo_c=1083&fo_k=124414ec1daadd27558de0221fba64eb&fo_s=gplauk

 

But you would want to trial one first I think. I don't have any experience with them.

[mjk]

I spoke to our existing AV supplier after the demo to get some idea of pricing, and they're coming in at £2,095.

That's £500 more per using than the 65" 4K IIyama or BenQ. What makes these screens £500 better ?

[christhetech]

That's £500 more per using than the 65" 4K IIyama or BenQ. What makes these screens £500 better ?

 

We've demo'd a few different screens over the course of a few months, including the BenQ screens. Every time I've had a demo booked, I've got a couple of the teaching staff to sit in and try them out, as ultimately they will be the ones using them on a daily basis. Of all of the screens that they have tried, they liked these ones the best. They said that they found them really intuitive, really sharp, and they loved the whole package, including the included software, which they found really easy to use and given the choice, it's the model that they would choose. Whether that's £500 worth of better or not is debatable, but they really, really liked them and if I can secure them for them, it makes my life a whole lot easier. I normally pick the teachers who are most likely to grumble to test new products. If I can satisfy their wishes, I can please anybody.

[FN-GM]

We had Genneeworld in yesterday with their 65" 4K screen & I think that it's superb. I got a couple of the teachers who like the Promethean units that we already have in on the demo too for them to critique it, as I know that they will tell me if they aren't happy with it and they couldn't find any fault with it at all - they even said that they found it even more intuitive than the Promethean screens.

I spoke to our existing AV supplier after the demo to get some idea of pricing, and they're coming in at £2,095. It's just a case of squeezing some money out of the bean counters now to get a couple bought and installed over the summer. The bursar knows I'm going to have a chat with her today about money, so it won't be a big shock to her. We currently have six Interactive boards, with the rest of the classrooms already fitted with Promethean screens. Ideally, I'd like to replace all six of the boards with Interactive screens, and the Genee 4K units are as good as anything that I've seen. I don't hold out any hope of getting £12k to spend though, but I think I can convince her to let me lease them. The classrooms that they are going into are a couple of the smaller classrooms in the school, so 65" 4K units will be more than adequate...

 

 

...wish me luck!

 

Find a new supplier. We are paying £1,300 for a 65" IIyama screen.