Does Such A Thing Exist? (Interactive display)

[AngryITGuy]

Have just been asked by a department in the school for an Interactive Slate for use with a Promethean whiteboard.

 

Not a problem I thought as we have loads in the school, however this particular department wants the Slate to have a screen too so that the user can also see what is being displayed on the whiteboard as they draw/write on it.

 

Does such a thing exist or are they thinking of a Tablet PC?

[Ric_]

Indeed it does... ActivPanel : Interactive Tools : Products : Our Solutions : Promethean.

 

Other suppliers also make them... InterWrite does one and Wacom make them too.

[Ric_]

InterWrite device can be fond at eInstruction - INTERWRITEPANEL and the Wacom device can be seen at Wacom Europe GmbH - Products - Cintiq - Overview

 

Smart also do a range of them SMART Podium interactive pen displays - SMART Technologies

[AngryITGuy]

Indeed it does... ActivPanel : Interactive Tools : Products : Our Solutions : Promethean.

 

Other suppliers also make them... InterWrite does one and Wacom make them too.

 

Thanks for that Ric, I should have mentioned in the original post that the device needs to be wireless too so that it can be passed around the class to students.

[sted]

tablet pc?

[danbuntu]

We have some wireless tablets here. They have a usb dongle to connect them to the pc/ laptop. They only cost about £100.

 

They don't have screens but surely they can look at the whiteboard as they draw?

[bossman]

@AngryITGuy:

 

Got one here at the school if you want to come over and have a look hehe!!

[Ric_]

Thanks for that Ric, I should have mentioned in the original post that the device needs to be wireless too so that it can be passed around the class to students.

 

That magical wireless power again

 

We use InterWrite boards and have a dozen or so of the bluetooth tablet devices and IMHO they are fine to use as you walk around the class but teachers struggle and they rarely get used. Then again, the interactive whiteboards rarely get used as more than an expensive projection surface.

 

Did the person requesting this device give you any indication as to why they would like one? Perhaps somebody on EduGeek could suggest an alternative solution that better fits your needs?

[dhicks]

Have just been asked by a department in the school for an Interactive Slate for use with a Promethean whiteboard.

 

Any Tablet PC that can VNC / RDP to the computer plugged in to the projector. Way cheaper than an interactive whiteboard. Does the iPad have a VNC or RDP client?

 

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David Hicks

[AngryITGuy]

We have some wireless tablets here. They have a usb dongle to connect them to the pc/ laptop. They only cost about £100.

 

They don't have screens but surely they can look at the whiteboard as they draw?

 

Problem with the current interactive slates (which don't have screens) we have is that as soon as the user lifts the pen off the surface its quite difficult to judge where to start writing\drawing again so you end up writing\drawing over stuff you have previosly done or atleast thats what I am told is the current issue.

 

That magical wireless power again

 

Did the person requesting this device give you any indication as to why they would like one? Perhaps somebody on EduGeek could suggest an alternative solution that better fits your needs?

 

Main issue was as indicated above regarding difficulty using the tablets when drawing\writing, the teacher also wants to encourage student participation within the lesson and rather than have students go up to the whiteboard they would use this interactive slate.

 

Any Tablet PC that can VNC / RDP to the computer plugged in to the projector. Way cheaper than an interactive whiteboard. Does the iPad have a VNC or RDP client?

 

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David Hicks

 

Thats what I am thinking at the moment a Tablet PC with VNC should do the trick. The iPad does have a VNC client too not sure how well the kids could write\draw on it with their fingers though!

[dhicks]

The iPad does have a VNC client

 

Great, problem solved, then - iPads all round!

 

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David Hicks

[Sylv3r]

The iPad does have a VNC client too not sure how well the kids could write\draw on it with their fingers though!

 

I use several RDP apps with my iPAD and they do take a little getting used to at first, but they are ultimately easy to use in the long run - the ipad would also be a lot more flexible with the number of things it could do - however more desirable for the member of staff or students to 'borrow'.

[SYNACK]

Great, problem solved, then - iPads all round!

 

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David Hicks

 

Surely you mean an APad GOOGLE 3G ANDRIOD APAD for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

10 times cheaper and far more extencible, better precision too.

[AngryITGuy]

however more desirable for the member of staff or students to 'borrow'.

 

Having iPads in the classroom would certainly encourage the kids to participate in lesson activities although as you suggested they would end up going home for too often for teachers to "work" on resources.

 

Think we will be heading down the Tablet PC route initially only because we have one at school to use and to see how well this idea works.

[dhicks]

Having iPads in the classroom would certainly encourage the kids to participate in lesson activities

 

No, having good teachers encourages children to participate in lesson activities, iPads just look like a good alternative to IWB hardware.

 

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David Hicks

[AngryITGuy]

No, having good teachers encourages children to participate in lesson activities, iPads just look like a good alternative to IWB hardware.

 

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David Hicks

 

Both a good and valid point, but even with the crazy demand for the it the iPad is easier to come by that good teachers at out place!

[dhicks]

I use several RDP apps with my iPAD and they do take a little getting used to at first

 

In what way? I'm going to have limited space in my new work environment (I'm going to have to give up my monster 22" wide-screen monitor, ...), and am starting to think an iPad might be the solution. So it can handle VNC and RDP, can it handle SSH too? Can I get a docking station and attach a Mac keyboard and mouse?

 

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David Hicks

[Robbocop]

The success of the iPad will always depend on the applications (Apps) which become available for it. I've been playing with Citrix and RDC client apps and I'm pretty impressed so far. The screen size of the iPad means that it lends itself pretty well to this sort of remote screen use. There are other Apps out there which already show the potential for this, but just aren't quite there yet (LiveView as a screen share, and the browser based Ajax client for Remote Buddy), but Citrix is so simple and so elegant that it's my favourite so far. I got a nice tingly feeling working on a full-on Photoshop session running under Windows on my iPad

[dhicks]

The screen size of the iPad means that it lends itself pretty well to this sort of remote screen use.

 

I'm going to see how I get on with a 12" RM Tablet PC. I've got assorted bits-and-bobs for it on the way from eBay, including new spare batteries, battery charger, a solid state disk and a webcam - by the time I'm done, it should rival the iPad for functionality, and I'm pretty sure it can't be too far behind in terms of processing power. I'm going to try a couple of other Tablets with a CF card and IDE adaptor as a boot device, see how well they work running Slax or similar.

 

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David Hicks