BETT: Interactive Projectors?
Having been a long time TabletPC user I have always been a bit sceptical about the benefits of IWBs relative to their high costs, but this last year I have had access to a SMART board in my classroom which I have found really enjoyable. I am still mostly a TabletPC user and still do most of my A-level/IB teaching sitting at my desk, however with lower school classes the IWB can be really useful – but it is still very expensive for what I use it for…
The problem with IWB boards for many schools is that most teachers use them as glorified projection screens and rarely if ever use the ‘interactive’ element making the costs unjustified! So when I saw the interactive DLP projector on the TI stand at BETT I was blown away. Rather than attempting to explain how it works I suggest you watch this:
Basically it enables you to use the ‘pen/wand’ both directly on the board or at a distance. The accuracy is pixel perfect (and there is no calibration ever!) and it works on any surface with no other hardware!?! All in these are likely to retail for around £1,000 which is MUCH less than a projector and IWB!
For those needing a mobile IWB this is the perfect solution as the projector also included DisplayLink technology (which is what I use in my Toshiba DynaDock) which means you only need to plug in a single USB cable and you get Video/Audio(via projector) and IWB elements instantly (again with no calibration!)
Also they offer a wireless connection over UWB where you plug in two USB wireless dongles and you get all of the above only wireless which would be fantastic with my tablet PC!!
This technology is likely to appear in a number of projectors from different manufacturers over the coming months but the one on display at the stand was the:
Keep an eye on this technology I think in a few years you will see this in lots of classrooms as old projectors need to be replaced (particularly in the Independent Sector where IWB are still not widespread) with the current type of IWBs being reserved for users who specifically need ‘touch’… Time for the IWB market to do some innovating!!
Damn – missed these as well! Looks good though.
Similar products discussed here: http://angrytechnician.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/intruige-and-disappointment/
If I’m in charge of speccing our new Academy I will be giving serious consideration to avoiding SMART/Promethean. They’re SO expensive and, as you say, are rarely used ‘properly’. Mainly due to the time consuming nature of designing interactive notebooks. I very rarely bother, so the chances of less techy staff doing so is very slim.
Thanks for featuring this; I missed the TI stand at BETT and really wish I hadn’t now!
Did you see the similar product on offer by Epson? How do they compare?
We’re considering just speccing some of the classrooms in our new build with projectors only, this might be a good compromise solution.
The Epson BrightLink seems to use a different technology (using infra-red) not sure how it would compare… Definitely worth getting someone to bring some into school to play with before making any purchases!
However I suspect something this would be an excellent compromise for most classrooms!