Reasons you DON’T need a Cisco Webex Board or Microsoft Surface Hub 2 as a School or University

A lot of the more well-known household brands have been dipping their toes in the water of the Interactive Touch Screen market. Microsoft with its surface hub 2S product that was launched amidst a lot of hype and publicity (great for companies such as TouchIT!). Their hugely expensive product was surrounded in supply issues that consequently forced them to stop selling the first version of the product. We picked up a lot of business on the back of this – thanks guys!

Likewise, Google Jamboard came to market in 2016 which we also wrote about on our blog why you don’t need their offering. And Cisco, huge name in the telecommunications industry has dipped their foot in the water with a touch screen product. They had a Spark Board which is now been rebranded as the Webex Board. In this article, we are going to explain why you don’t need either of these products. This is even more true if you are a school or university as the TouchIT Rapide, from TouchIT Technologies can do the job and much more, at a fraction of the cost.

We’re a Touch Screen Specialist – They are NOT!

For these huge multi-national, house hold name brands, the touchscreen market is an after-thought; it really is not what they do. They are PC builders, or Software Publishers, Telecommunications experts or Search Engine Giants – not specialist touch screen manufactures like TouchIT Technologies. Whilst we are nowhere near the size of these giants, (perhaps one day) we do have 10+ years of experience in these products and the touch screen market. It is our bread and butter. It is what we do and what we specialise in.

What is Special About the Cisco Webex Board?

Image Credit – www.cisco.com

According to Cisco.com, “With the Cisco Webex Board (formerly Cisco Spark Board), you can wirelessly present, whiteboard, video or audio conference, and even annotate shared content. The Webex Board has everything you need for team collaboration at the touch of a finger. Use the Cisco Webex Teams (formerly Cisco Spark) app to connect with virtual team members through the devices of their choice.”

The Webex Board comes in three sizes—55-inch, 70-inch, and 85-inch screens—to cover all your creative and collaboration needs from huddle to boardroom.

In Short, NOTHING!

There is nothing new in that description that we haven’t been doing for the last 7 years. As a company we launched our first Interactive Flat Panel device in 2012. Today, we’re on our 7th generation with the TouchIT Rapide. What CISCO have done is essentially integrated a Camera with its very popular and successful Webex software and bundled it into a standalone product.

That is fine if you want to use Webex (although you can also install the Webex App onto the TouchIT Rapide and plug in a webcam). That is also fine if you are a corporate user and Webex conferences are all that you do. However, if you are a School or University, there is the chance that you are going to want to do a little more than just a video conference – a huge chance that this is not what you actually need in your lecture theatres or classrooms.

What is Special About the Microsoft Surface Hub 2?

Image Credit – www.theverge.com

According to Microsoft.com, the Hub 2S is “Built for team collaboration in the modern workplace. Enable teamwork anywhere with new Surface Hub 2S, an all-in-one digital whiteboard, meetings platform, and collaborative computing device that brings the power of Windows 10 to teamwork.”

In Short, NOTHING!

OK, so this is a huddle space corporate business product, not really for education. That was easy.

What Microsoft have done is combined the popular Office 365 Office Suite, Skype for Business and a camera into a touchscreen that runs Windows 10. The concepts that they are conveying about collaboration and team work again, are nothing new in this large format touch screen market. The hub 2s does look like a nice product but as The Verge describe it, “its a $9K PC on Wheels” – that is just for the 50 inch product with no extras. You can have 2 x 75″ TouchIT Rapides for that price! Something to think about. By the time you add all the extras, you can have 2 x 86″ from TouchIT instead!

What about the TouchIT Rapide?

Software – We’re not short on Software!

TouchIT App Store

We have our own App Store to Facilitate the downloading of free applications onto the TouchIT Rapide LED. What you may find interesting is that our store already has the Webex App from Cisco along with the Office365 and Skype for Business Apps in the store. So, if it is those you are looking for, you can download them now onto your TouchIT Rapide LED.

Now, for schools and universities, we also offer a whole host of education apps (over 1000) that can be downloaded and installed onto the LED. We’re offing lots of free additional content from 3rd parties which Cisco and Microsoft don’t do.

Wireless Mirroring

If you are looking to Mirror a screen from your iPhone, iPad, Android Device, then we have you covered with TouchIT Air and Mirror Cast. Both are able to Mirror screens directly up to the LED.

If you are looking to cast your screen form a PC or a MAC or Chromebook, we have you covered too.

Contribute Cloud

Now, being the specialist in this arena, TouchIT has its own collaboration software which is called Contribute Cloud. Here is what Contribute Cloud can do for you in the classroom.

• Make your existing teaching materials collaborative

Take a PDF, Word Doc, Image, Google Sheets or Slides just to name a few and open them on your computer, with the LED, you can show them to your class. Open those same files in Contribute Cloud, and we cam make them collaborative, deliver them to students on their own devices and have a live shared workspace for annotations without having to change the files in any way.

• Cast Student’s Screens up to the LED wirelessly

The holy grail of whole class teaching – the ability to cast and multi-cast up to the LED. Show your student’s screen live in real time on the LED without any wires, all through the Contribute Cloud software.

• Teacher Cast & Teacher Video

Distance Learning tools for the teacher. This gives the teacher the ability to be inclusive for students that are off on long term sick and include them in the lesson, They can enjoy the same experience as their classmates from afar and participate as if they were in the classroom. They can both see and hear the teacher all through Contribute Cloud.

• File Delivery through Group Chat

Being able to send files and links to the students through the Group Chat feature is a huge benefit to the students. No need to email everyone, just elect your file or link and drop it into the chat session.

• Built in Educational Tools

We have calculators, periodic tables, pianos, dice, tally charts, “excel-like” tables and more in our software. All can be used in the workbooks and collaboratively with your students.

• Built in Polling & Voting

Create activities which can be delivered to all your students on their devices. They can respond to questions that you have set and the results can then be downloaded by the teacher or instructor.

• Wireless Mirroring

If you are looking to Mirror a screen from your iPhone, iPad, Android Device, then we have you covered with TouchIT Air and Mirror Cast. Both are able to Mirror screens directly up to the LED.

If you would like a free trial of the software – head over to https://contribute.cloud

We believe we have a lot more to offer schools and universities over these very “corporate” products from the household names. Get in touch today for a demo of the product; we’d love to show you what it can do.

Thanks for reading.