bertster Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 My primary school is about to have two smartboard 600is installed by RM in two brand new classrooms, however we need to find out the optimum height these boards should be so that the pupils can reach them. All of our current IWBs are too high for the pupils. RM are not sure and we've got the electrics and dado being installed later this week. I need to give the builders the high for this dado asap as the IWB will be installed above it. Can anyone help? Thanks
FN-GM Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 With schools there is a big age range so the requirement will be different depending on the age of kids. I found the best solution was to get some average high kids and stand them up against the wall and measure.
Technical_Edge Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 We feel its horses for courses. We have installed a whiteboard that actually sat on the floor as the Nursery teacher wanted the kids to have full access. It made it very difficult for her to use but she thought that the advantages out weighed the problems. Having said that, we have lowered existing installations to suite and raised them for others. Have you asked the staff what they would like? In lower KS1, I would think a bottom height of 40cm would be about right as it gives a good balance of usabillity for the kids and visibillity for the class. Hello all BTW 1
laserblazer Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 As said previously, kids come in varying sizes. We have Y5 kids who are 5'6" and others can't reach the door handles! It's good exercise when they have to keep jumping to reach the top of the board. We've just had a Smartboard put in the Y5ICT suite, I'll measure that next time I'm over there. 1
bertster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Posted March 9, 2009 Its a Primary school, Reception, Y1 and Y2 kids only. The reason I ask is that I'm sure that there is a legal minimum height that a dado containing power sockets can be. The IWB comes with a short-throw projector so I'm trying to balance getting the IWB low enough for the kids but high enough so that the projector is clear of the teachers head!
FN-GM Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 I think you can buy rails to fit on the wall that will let you adjust the height.
MattCowen Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 We are a MLD school and find our pupils range in size from very small to very tall. Therefore we install the IWB at a standard height and have some of the SMART Steps in some of our classrooms. See Here 1
bertster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks to all for comments, looks like the 'step' is the best way to go. Just got to get the best price now...
Voodoo Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Don't rule out the option of the HAWM (Height Adjustable Wall Mount) if your walls can take the weight and you've got around £400 extra to spend on the board. It solves the problem in our book, and means you just don't don't need that famous safety hazard - the step!
Hecate Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 If you can afford it there are a number of height adjustable wall mounts around so you can adjust the height to the pupik
Sylv3r Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Its a bit strange that RM are installing the boards and don't know the recommended height. We are a Secondary school with Promethean boards and generally install to 900mm as a rule. I don't think it really matters what height it is set at as long as the whole class can see the board from the furthest point they will be sitting in the class.
SteveMC Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Loxit do a good selection of mounts for SMART Boards, - including a variable height one with a boom arm that's also mobile (which is something I don't think SMART themselves offer at the moment). Stephen
bertster Posted March 9, 2009 Author Posted March 9, 2009 Its a bit strange that RM are installing the boards and don't know the recommended height. I don't think it really matters what height it is set at as long as the whole class can see the board from the furthest point they will be sitting in the class. RM recommended height adjustable, whereas we where after the legal minimum height, but there doesnt seem to be one. The height does matter as the pupils need to reach the IWB as we use software that requires their intervention on the IWB. Its rather more than just seeing the IWB.
witch Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 Its a Primary school, Reception, Y1 and Y2 kids only. The reason I ask is that I'm sure that there is a legal minimum height that a dado containing power sockets can be. The IWB comes with a short-throw projector so I'm trying to balance getting the IWB low enough for the kids but high enough so that the projector is clear of the teachers head! Surely that's not a Primary School - that's an Infant School? Primary School covers Infant (recep to year 2) and Junior (Year 3 to Year 6) In the First School I used to work in, the board's bottom edge was about 30cm off the floor. The teachers didn't like the steps as they felt that the littlest children couldn' balance and concentrate on what they were doing on the board as well.
enjay Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 Definitely go with the height-adjustable ones - £400 well spent. What you need to remember is that it is not just the children who need to use the board, but the staff as well - so, unless your class teachers are also only 3ft tall, get the height-adjustable ones. Having bought a couple of these in our Primary and seen them in use compared to static ones, I wouldn't now consider anything else for a Primary install (insert disclaimer that this is my personal opinion and is not critical of those people who choose static ones!). There are no legal height restrictions, however do remember that the height-adjustable boards can only be moved by around 60cm (I think), so you should also factor in how high you might need it to go as well as how low.
farmerste Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 for health and safety reasons, as i understand it, the projector ( ceiling mounted) cannot be lower than the height of the door top, and the board should not be lower than the tables used in the particular room. I understand this will stop any claims for hit heads, or bad backs. Our suppliers stick to this rule, and with good reason.
enjay Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 for health and safety reasons, as i understand it, the projector ( ceiling mounted) cannot be lower than the height of the door top, and the board should not be lower than the tables used in the particular room. That does make (some) sense, but it should be noted that is your supplier's practice, not law. One problem with mounting the board so high as you suggest is that you may not be able to reach the top. We put our projectors much higher than some suppliers recommend (around 2.4m up), as it keeps them out the way, encourages people to use the remote not jab at the buttons and keeps them as far out of the teachers' eye lines as possible. Obviously, our boom-mounted ones are lower, but even those are comfortably above head-height (except the height-adjustable ones which I keep smacking my head on - ideal height for 4-yr-olds and smaller teachers, but not so good for 6-foot me!)
p858snake Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 There are no legal height restrictions, however do remember that the height-adjustable boards can only be moved by around 60cm (I think), so you should also factor in how high you might need it to go as well as how low. Workplace health and safety will/should say otherwise, it should be a height that the teacher doesn't have to strain their back bending over/looking up to use it.
enjay Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 Workplace health and safety will/should say otherwise, it should be a height that the teacher doesn't have to strain their back bending over/looking up to use it. Fair point. A height-adjustable one would address this, of course, as the teacher could raise it when they wanted to use it and slide it back down for the pupils. If the board is mounted at a fixed height, it needs to be one suitable for both a 3-foot child and a 6-foot teacher.
farmerste Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 err, what about a 3 foot teacher with six feet ??
DarrenC Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 Your supplier really should have all of this information for you. The general rules of thumb are as follows: Mount the boards with the bottom sitting around 700 - 1000mm from the floor, this is a reasonable height for teachers not to injure their backs using the boards. If you have small children use a step or height adjustable wall mount. DO NOT MOUNT A BOARD AT EXTREMELLY LOW OR FLOOR LEVEL. There are no specific health and safety laws concerning projectors (however there certainly should be as I have seen some ridiculously unsafe installations), however the guidelines in place for the ceiling mounted projecors were to mount at around 2.4m+, the main reason for this was the bright light shining in teachers eyes. With wall mounted projectors there is less chance of the light shining directly into your eyes if you stand to the side of the board whilst addressing the class, so typical height for the projector tends to be a little lower at around 2m. If you are unsure your supplier should be offering site surveys and support in getting the correct solution for you. It is not worth saving a couple of hundred pounds if the boards then become very dificult to use. DC
enjay Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 If you have small children use a step or height adjustable wall mount. DO NOT MOUNT A BOARD AT EXTREMELLY LOW OR FLOOR LEVEL. So when the child finishes with the board, moves back and falls a-over-t off the step, breaks an arm/leg/neck.... If the difference between teacher and pupil height is an issue, I say get a height-adjustable board. Let's face it, the cost of the height adjust kit is FAR smaller than the cost of an injured pupil.
DarrenC Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 I agree, personally I think that the height adjustable boards are a far better idea, however some schools walls are made out of paper and as such we can not install a HAWM unit onto these as they simply will not take the weight. I do think the step is a better option than mounting the board at a very low level, you could say that you should remove all furniture from classrooms as children could potentially fall and hit their head on a desk. The steps are ruggerised to make them non slip and as long as care is taken there is no more reason for accidents than normal with a step.
sippo Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Your supplier really should have all of this information for you. This is exactly what I thought. A good installer will know what height to install the board at, and will have experience of various installs. They should have the knowledge with regards to height, power, projectors etc.
ricki Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 If you cannot get the height adjust boards get the teacher to mark the wall where the top of the board should be. That way they dont complain. Please note that the height of the board may affect the length of the post that the fitters fit to the projector. I only advice this as if you decide it will be wrong. But if they decide they will have to live with it. Richard
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