Classroom Usage

Will it be difficult to get teachers to use ViewBoard displays?

Both teachers and students tend to perceive ViewSonic ViewBoard displays as giant iPads and get pretty excited about using them – and operating a ViewBoard display is really a lot like using a tablet. The ViewBoard annotation software is designed specifically for use in classrooms; it’s very intuitive and interfaces easily with Google Classroom. Advice from education technology professionals on helping teachers use technology includes incorporating training and professional development (PD) to help instructors move from learning to use a technology, to accepting it, integrating it into their daily curriculum, and learning to use it well. Good PD also focuses attention on how the tool will bring value to teachers and their students, not just on how to use the technology.⁴

What are some of the most common ways ViewBoards are used in a classroom?

ViewBoard displays bring engagement, interaction and collaboration to any type of classroom and the possible uses are virtually endless. Among them are:

• Teacher-directed viewing and navigation of any website, app, video, or document to support learning objectives
• Dramatic emphasis of key learning points with onscreen highlighting and annotation
• Save and print capability, for instant handouts, supplementary notes, and absent students
• Facilitation of group projects and individual presentations
• A collaborative work environment for text documents, spreadsheets, design projects, etc. Video conferencing connectivity
• Text/data entry via floating onscreen keyboard
• Onscreen editing and recording of changes or additions
• Support for effective special needs education and classroom differentiation
• Student feedback and assessment with optional audience response accessories

How do ViewBoard displays make classroom collaboration easier?

Students tend to perceive ViewBoard displays as a giant iPad, which provides an immediate level of comfort – along with the draw of the “coolness” factor. In fact, the ways in which they can interact with the ViewBoard are pretty much just like what they’re familiar with on a tablet – taps, pinches, and the like. Plus, with ViewBoard display, more students can participate at any one time – with up to 10 students simultaneously interacting with course content, using just their fingers (or a stylus if they prefer). Very few projectors or projector-based IWBs can come close to offering this level of intuitive group collaboration, with many only offering interactivity with special pens and many only allowing one or two students at a time to use the display.

⁴Work, Josh, 5 Tips to Help Teachers Who Struggle with Technology, Technology Integration bog, Edutopia.org, Retrieved February 3, 2014, from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/help-teachers-struggling-with-technology-josh-work