In 2016, Fenton Area Public Schools’ aging classroom projectors were due for an upgrade. The annual Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference provided the perfect venue for Technology Director, Kevin Powers, to investigate alternatives.

While projection was his initial priority, it was impossible for Powers to ignore the many interactive display solutions. As he visited exhibitors, Powers was struck by the profound implications interactive displays could have for tactile learners. Sure, touch technology was more expensive than projection, but it was clearly worth taking a closer look at the potential benefits it offered. What would it be like to enable kids at his schools to manipulate information during the learning process?

Thus, the 2017-18 school year pilot was born. First, Powers and his team put ViewSonic interactive touch displays in nine rooms at Fenton Senior High School. Fourteen rooms got brand new high definition ceiling-mounted projectors. Later, the IT team asked teachers: did anything change for you?

“We wanted to drive change with this investment,” said Powers. “And after talking with each group of teachers, it was clear that nothing changed in the projector rooms.”

In rooms with the ViewSonic interactive display, however, teachers reported profound change. “Kids got out of their seats. They collaborated. Multiple students stood around the display and worked together. Teachers expanded their teaching methods. Positive changes were clearly being driven by the capabilities of the ViewSonic interactive displays. At that point,” said Powers, “we knew we were onto something with this technology.”

Interactive front-of-room display is a must-have for effective 21st century education. Interactive flat panels are wonderful, but costly. Is there a value-minded way to achieve the benefits of classroom interaction?

Your district requires that all computing products comply with the strictest standards for product safety. How can we be sure that ViewSonic® ViewBoard® interactive flat panel displays meet these standards and will protect the safety of the students, teachers and staff using them?

You’d like to extend the use of your interactive displays to support unique teaching opportunities. Is there a cost-effective way to transform your ViewBoard® interactive flat panel (IFP) displays into maker spaces and/or make them more accessible to your youngest learners?

You want to upgrade your learning environment with new interactive classroom display technology to maximize the benefits of collaborative learning. Beyond the teaching advantages discussed in another Solution Brief, what administrative and cost benefits do ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive flat panel (IFP) displays offer?

In 2016, Fenton Area Public Schools’ aging classroom projectors were due for an upgrade. The annual Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference provided the perfect venue for Technology Director, Kevin Powers, to investigate alternatives.

While projection was his initial priority, it was impossible for Powers to ignore the many interactive display solutions. As he visited exhibitors, Powers was struck by the profound implications interactive displays could have for tactile learners. Sure, touch technology was more expensive than projection, but it was clearly worth taking a closer look at the potential benefits it offered. What would it be like to enable kids at his schools to manipulate information during the learning process?

Thus, the 2017-18 school year pilot was born. First, Powers and his team put ViewSonic interactive touch displays in nine rooms at Fenton Senior High School. Fourteen rooms got brand new high definition ceiling-mounted projectors. Later, the IT team asked teachers: did anything change for you?

“We wanted to drive change with this investment,” said Powers. “And after talking with each group of teachers, it was clear that nothing changed in the projector rooms.”

In rooms with the ViewSonic interactive display, however, teachers reported profound change. “Kids got out of their seats. They collaborated. Multiple students stood around the display and worked together. Teachers expanded their teaching methods. Positive changes were clearly being driven by the capabilities of the ViewSonic interactive displays. At that point,” said Powers, “we knew we were onto something with this technology.”

When director of instructional technology, Rob Zdrojewski, joined the Oakfield - Alabama School District in 2015, he discovered a situation common in today’s schools: aging, worn out Smartboards in need of replacement. Before choosing a path forward, Zdrojewski looked at the latest Smartboards, touch-enabled projectors and interactive flat panels. Flat panels as a category quickly rose to the top because of their better overall total cost of ownership, and because they eliminate common projector challenges like the need to calibrate to maintain accurate touchpoints.

“We then looked at panels from a dozen or so manufacturers, including the big-name brands like Promethean, Smart and ViewSonic,” said Zdrojewski. “We also looked at some smaller no-name suppliers, which, by the way, are no longer around.”

Like many schools today, the St. Matthew Parish School was ready to retire a host of aging SMART boards. Having used the boards for the past 10 years, the teachers and administrators knew what worked well – and what didn’t. While teachers and students were benefitting from the interactive capabilities, several limitations compelled technology coordinator Gretchen Knapp to look for a better option.

Knapp recognized that keeping teachers tethered to their laptops constrained their creative capabilities. In addition, the need to continually "orient" the SMART boards to reconfigure touchpoints whenever the projector or board was bumped or jarred by vibrations was sapping teacher time and patience. The school was also looking to move away from Windows and become a Google Chrome environment, which created a dilemma around license renewal for their SMART Notebook software, which Knapp said didn’t work well with Chromebooks.

"Last time I looked, SMART hadn’t done a lot with Chromebooks and we were committed to moving in that direction," said Knapp, "So license renewal didn’t make much sense."

As with any university, UDE’s academics were comprised of multiple departments, faculties, and disciplines, all of which were in need of new and better projector equipment. Trouble was, each department had different projection needs.

“The projectors we had used previously presented different academic and operating difficulties for each department,” said Sebastian Alba, head of the IT department at UDE. “For instance, the Faculty of Health Sciences had difficulties viewing X-Ray projections during their lessons, while the Faculty of Design and Communication would make frequent requests for a wider range of colors.”

In addition to providing its students and professors with improved projection images, UDE also needed to find a solution that could deliver network capabilities so that projectors could be remotely managed across the entire campus – thereby delivering greater efficiency, reduced operating costs, and fewer IT man hours.