What size of Interactive Flat Panel is best for the Classroom?

We’ve all been there. Looking at a faded image, having to have all the blinds closed, perhaps taped to the window to stop even the smallest strip of light protruding onto the whiteboard. Projectors as they get old do degrade in picture brightness and quality.

They loose their ability to be “bright” and the colors fade too. This makes it really difficult to see the image in the classroom. This puts considerable strain on Student’s eyes and should definitely be avoided. With the whiteboard, it might have a few holes in it, not be as accurate as it once was, in short, not a great user experience. This is the first reason you need an Interactive LED in 2019

Reason 2 – Image Quality and Resolution

When the first projectors came on the market, they were 640 x 480 resolution. Yes, they have progressed but the average projector in a classroom is being fed with a VGA cable in a 1024 x 768 resolution. If it is still working, it will be nowhere near the 1300-2000 lumens that it once was.

Being on the interactive LED. Most like the Rapide from TouchIT Technologies are 4k, that is 4 times the resolution of full HD, bearing in mind that VGA is nowhere near full HD. They also have a high higher contrast ratio that a projector and are much brighter – usually around 300-350 NITS. This is the second reason you need an Interactive LED in 2019

Reason 3 – User Experience

When you have a better image, that has more pixels, it’s brighter so easier to see. There is no shadow and then you have no drivers to install or calibration to be done. This just makes for a fantastic user experience.

As a company, TouchIT Technologies started manufacturing interactive whiteboard back in 2008. We know as well as anyone about the draw backs of Interactive Whiteboards.

That is exactly why when we design our LEDs we make sure that they remove as many barriers to use as possible. This is the third reason you need an Interactive LED in 2019

Reason 4 – Plug and Play, no drivers no calibration

One of the main draw backs to ease of use with almost all Interactive Whiteboards was the need for projector “warm up” which took time. Then there was Calibration. An annoying daily process for many.

Then there was always the dreaded question about drivers and whether they were installed on the computer. The great thing with Interactive LEDs, and certainly the Rapide from TouchIT Technologies is that there is no driver or calibration.

This is true wither you are a Windows user, a MAC fanatic or a Chrome convert. All are diver and calibration free. This makes for a fantastic user experience. This is the fourth reason you need an Interactive LED in 2019

Reason 5 – Software

Whilst one could argue that the software that is available on Interactive LEDs can be used on the Interactive Whiteboards, I would argue that today’s software is designed for the Interactive Flat Panel more than the whiteboard.

The onset of App Stores like the TouchIT App Store area only available with Interactive LEDs that have onboard Android, like the TouchIT Rapide so it is not really a fair comment to say that software is equal on both sets of hardware.

For the first time, the TouchIT Rapide Interactive LED represents a truly computer-replacing technology in the classroom. What I mean by this is that for the first time, you can actually do all of your regular day=to-day tasks directly on the LED; you don’t need to have a computer tethered to it.

There has been huge steps forward in software and todays interactive software, like Contribute Cloud is much more advanced than the basic annotation tools of the early whiteboards. Contribute Cloud is a lesson creation platform, a lesson delivery platform, a collaboration platform as well as casting and voting – all in a single piece of software.

This is the fifth reason you need an Interactive LED in 2020

Reason 6 – Life Span

If you are lucky, you will get 1000 hours out of a projector. The chances are that it will not always be treated the best so it is going to be a lot less. Every time you don’t shut down a projector correctly, you shorten it’s lifespan. Bet you didn’t realise that!

With an Interactive LED you are looking at somewhere in the region of 30 000 to 50 000 hours. Putting that into context, that is around 11 years of use if you are using this 8 hours a day 7 days a week.

Drop this down, and the lifespan will extend. This also means that the total cost of ownership is lower for an Interactive LED than it is for a Projector / IWB combo. This is the sixth reason you need an Interactive LED in 2019

Reason 7 – Technology, invest in the latest and greatest

When you are spending around $4000 on a classroom to get it kitted out with technology, you want to be putting in the latest and greatest and that is Interactive LEDs. The projector although has moved forward, is not the best choice for the front of classroom presentation system. The Interactive LED is.

We’ve seen above it is brighter, easer to use, no drivers or calibration, comes with great software and lasts longer. This is the final reason you need an Interactive LED in 2020

Thanks for reading!

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