Nursery Whiteboard height???

[ba9ag]

We recently installed a smartboard in a Nursery classroom and have just received a call from the school saying that the board is too high. The bottom of the board is 68cm/26 inches from the floor. Going by installs in other schools this seems to be the norm. Just looking to see if other people have lower boards in their nursery classes. Please let me know as the school want us to change the projector and lower the board for free. Thanks in advance.

[jamesreedersmith]

Thats a little high for a Nursery - i normally aim for 12-18" in a nursery, 15-22" in reception and then 20-30" in KS1 - if its not as required by the client its a freebie im afraid.

 

THanks

 

james

[kaphc]

Speaking as a parent, rather than an IT bod, my the interactive w/b in my daughter's nursery is much lower than this. Prob about a foot of the ground at the most.

 

The reason being is that a lot of the time, staff set up activities to do using the whiteboard for the children to do ... they then have to be able to touch all parts of the whiteboard to do the activity.

[ozzy]

Our Nursery board is 12" off the floor. the teacher tends to be kneeling when it is being used and the kiddies can just about reach the top. I must admit I had my doubts when they told me the hight that it was to be but it works very well, don't know if it break's any health and safety rules though. We have the ajustable Activboards around the rest of the school but they did'nt go low enough.

[Paul_L]

Would have to say it is to high, nursery / reception we usually put at about 6 to 9 inchs from the floor - Sorry

[ba9ag]

Thanks for your replies, my next question is that due to the layout of the room, the maximum distance we can put the projector from the board is about 1.6m. Does anyone know of/recommend a projector that is short throw that will throw a 64" diameter image 10-12" from the floor?

[laserblazer]

We have standardised on Hitachi A100s CP-A100 : Multi Purpose : LCD Projectors : English : Hitachi Digital Media Group with 600 series smartboards. Not the cheapest solution by a long chalk but one of the main reasons was preventing people staring into the projector beam.

[Educare_AV]

We would normally perform a site survey and get the customer to sign the survey, after a discussion has been made regarding the height. So this prevents any freebies if the height which has been agreed is not suitable.

 

Problems with having it too low are, teachers bending over all the time to use the bottom of the board, had issues with back complaints after a while.

 

Children sat in front on the IWB on the carpet watching a video etc can cast shadows on the screen.

 

I have used this projector in the past, to acheive low heights

 

Epson launches ultra-short throw EMP-400W / EMP-400We projectors -- Engadget

[rad]

we have had 2 NEC projectors that are short throw, not sure of model but can get it tomorrow, they have a large glass "eye"!!

[FN-GM]

I have seen smartboards on rails so you can adjust the height this are the best bet.

 

The way you come across you are a company that installs the equipment. Surely you should know what type of projector to use?

[ba9ag]

We're not an install company as such, we're mainly an ICT support service and occasionally do AV and network installs. Mostly our projector installs to date have been with standard (non short throw) projectors and standard replacement projectors. It's always nice to get recommendations though

[john]

I always in my nurserys and primarys ask where they want them and then discuss it with the pro's and con's of the height.

[elsiegee40]

We have an adjustable-height ActivBoard 2 for our littlies

 

We have had to put tables under the projector, otherwise, you run the risk of banging our head on it when the board is lowered.

 

(The pitched roof in this room meant that a ceiling mount for the projector wasn't an option anyway)

[AVShopper]

Sympathise with your situation. The problem with going "non-standard" on the board height is that you're dealing with multiple stakeholders - their ICT person may say something different to the head, the teacher(s) and possibly the students. If you get a confirmation ahead of time from one, the teacher on the day may demand something different. This isn't a tech question, but about your relationship with the school and of course procedures for sign-off etc.

 

We've installed as low as "skirting board height" on one occasion due to a very specific request from an IT supplier for whom we were sub-contracting. 3 months later the teacher was demanding we "correct" the situation as it was too low. (moved at our cost to 30cm height).

 

One thing you may wish to consider, which hasn't been mentioned is Health & Safety issues. If you put the projector below 2.0m height someone is going to bang their head or damage the projector. This usually dictates the minimum height of the board, particularly if you're using a short throw projector as there's no play room.

 

If the school genuinely needs a height that can accomodate both nursery children and teachers, then they will need to go for a height adjustable unit and add a grand to the budget.

[jtotheb]

Whiteboard steps work well for us. Something like: Whiteboard Double Step from Go Education, the AV & IT specialists.

 

The board can go at a reasonable height for the adult, but is still accessible with the steps for the children.

[ba9ag]

We've been trying to suggest steps but they're not having it at all. We're also already pushing the boundaries on the projector as it's 77 inches from the floor when the Becta recommended minimum is 88 inches. Looks like it's gonna be expensive :-(

 

Having gone around most of our schools now we've noticed that none of our early years boards are any lower than 26 inches so I guess we'll just have to learn from this experience and get explicit instructions before install.

 

Every day is a school day :-)

[elsiegee40]

Seeing the steps reminded me that, as well as our adjustable board in early years, we also use our portable stage steps in the ICT suite. They are wide, have a hand rail and are perfect for boosting the kids.

[indboonies]

According to promethean standards you are not supposed to mount the board less than 24 inches from the floor. We have mounted them lower based on the kiddies and height of the teacher ( 4' nothing if memory serves me correctly) But it was with written understanding that if the board ever had to raised or lowered it would be at the schools expense.

[DarrenC]

There are a number of implications in these types of scenarios.

 

1. The height othe projector - Under 2m is a real no no so you need to look at key stone ability of projectors

2. If teachers are using these boards so low down over a prolongued period they will have issues (such as back trouble)

3. If the projectors are mounted very low there is an issue with the light shining in peoples eyes.

 

We tend to suggest height adjustable systems as the best option, steps as another and now as the price is reducing dramatically, touch scren LCD on a height adjustable trolley.You can also suggest things such as wands to help give the kids extra reach.

 

If the school insist on having equipment fitted at a bespoke height they should be asked to sign a disclaimer to state that they have requested this and it has not come from the installation company.

 

Ultimately however interactive white boards are for the learners to use, that is the point of them, so they do need to be at a useable height for the kids. And when you're dealing with nurseries and primaries this can be difficult.

[Marc-Engineer]

Hi everyone, OK boards can be mounted at any hight but you must realise the angle of the projector is important you must NOT under any circumstances tilt the projector more than 20 deg out of level, this will harm and shorten its life, i have seen many projectors even mounted feet down??????????

Best baords for early years are +2 and smart vari hight lift unit, this can also be used on other boards clever being a good board as it is indestructable and can be written on with almost anything (good for early years) and can be cleaned.

 

Any short throw projector would help you Hitacch 100A, or Epson ultra close range (Epson being preferable to all other in running cost and reliability), if you require further advice i would be pleased to assist you, we fit many of these every week.

 

Marc

Projector Engineer