The 21st Century classroom and office space would hardly be recognizable 20 years ago. WiFi, telepresence robots and mobile devices are beginning to replace hardwired phones; and static touch screens are slowly being phased out by many tech-savvy organizations with internet-connected ones. Interactive Displays are an innovation that many classrooms and offices are beginning to adopt. Even though game-changing technology has transformed touch displays, the original was made publicly available in the 1960’s– back before the Internet, Smartphones and iPads existed. Since then, they have become the technological evolution of the old classroom and workplace staple. Their existence isn’t necessarily new, but their value as a significant benefit to learning, meetings and presentations has just recently come to the forefront of modern business. What are the benefits of these touch displays? What common problems are users facing? What are the industry specific solutions? Read on to discover.
Benefits of the Interactive Displays in the Classroom
Teachers globally have already discovered the power that that touch screen technology can have in a classroom. It’s helping their students to learn more in a shorter space of time, but despite the benefits of these touch displays, not every country is on track with integrating this technology in their classrooms. For example, while 70% of the primary and secondary schools within the UK have these boards, only 16% of classrooms have them in the US. However, teachers that use the technology say it helps disengaged students re-engage with their learning by making teaching more fluid and the learning process more effective with enhanced tools for interactivity.
One of the most valuable tools often associated with these devices are iPad’s or tablets that can be used to control the interactive displays from anywhere in a room. These innovations unchain teachers from the front of the class and allow them to move freely throughout their room to monitor and manage the progress of their students while continuing to present key concepts.
With these touch displays used in the education sector, students can be engaged with participatory lessons that are designed to reinforce skills with multi-sensory and collaborative learning. Instruction techniques from years past simply can’t keep up with today’s hyper-connected youth. Notes can be stored and shared and students outside the classroom will still have access to data.
Benefits of Interactive Displays in the Business Sector
When it comes to the boardroom, ideation and dispersal of information are important elements of productive meetings and more than 125 blue-chip (Fortune 500) companies in over 50 countries around the world are using visual collaboration solutions in industries such as financial services, manufacturing and advanced technology. Whether your team members are most productive in one-on-one informal collaborations or formal presentations and training, you never lose an innovative idea and can make effective and timely decisions. Instead of spending 30 minutes on one-way presentations on a traditional touch screen or slide across a PowerPoint, an interactive display enables meeting participants to fully engage with the information being discussed. Access to information is also more effective since files can be easily shared, accessed, edited, and saved all on the touch screen. You can iterate in real-time, editing and making changes as you receive feedback from your colleagues.
They also allow you to share files with those who are in remote locations. With this technology, everyone’s dealing with exactly the same information, at the same time– ensuring that all collaborators are on the same track. At the end of the meeting or presentation, you can email, print and share data.
This technology can also work to annotate documents. For instance, it can be used to interact and annotate on top of BIM 3D models, hyperlinked drawing sets, estimating software, videos, and any other applications used in the construction industry to further improve your communications and document workflow.
Common Obstacles
One of the major issues that interactive displays face is cost, and implementing new technology can be expensive. Some of today’s common displays, which range from $7,500 for a smaller screen up to $20,000 or more for the larger ones, may represent too high of a cost for some firms. Others may be concerned about durability, as a device’s ruggedness can often be put to the ultimate test in a classroom environment. Another issue is whether students and teachers can adopt the technology properly, as not every touch display is easy to implement and use.
Available Solutions
Interactive displays equipped with ShadowSenseTM technology overcome each of these obstacles. It’s been proven to be cost-effective in both the classroom and business environment, saving school districts money and preserving precious educational resources. When it comes to durability, Baanto’s solutions can operate 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, with more than 200,000 user hours in a product’s lifespan. This means a device can undergo constant usage, even in a busy classroom that is active for several hours a day. They also have the capability of operating even when subjected to tough classroom environments, from harsh fluorescent lighting to dirt and smudging. They can even operate when chewing gum or tape residue are stuck to the touch surface. These solutions are also intuitive and easy to adopt; instructors need little or no training to begin using the touch screen technology, as it works with existing operating systems and simply adds multi-touch capabilities. It also does not use up IT resources, as they are plug-and-play solutions, requiring no special drivers or software to operate.
Are you currently using touch screens in your classroom or business? How has the technology affected day-to-day operations? For more insights on touch screen technology and solutions that cater to your individual needs, connect with us today and join our growing community.