IWBs

Shadow

The problem with a shadow on the board is soon to disappear. There are now:

• new large plasma IWBs on the market. Samsung launched a 63" version at the show
• a lot of short-throw IWBs and ultra-short-throw IWBs, which hardly stick out from the wall you project on

Interestingly, apart from the well-known names in whiteboards, there were a number of  (I imagine) unknown Chinese companies present in the show with efficient whiteboards. Hopefully, this competition might help drive down prices.

3D

The future is probably going to be 3D, but:

• progress is slow - not least because software is lagging behind hardware
• the technology is currently using 'active' glasses which recieve information and use batteries and which are still relatively expensive; even if we wanted to purchase, it makes sense to wait for leasing plans to be developed

However, if the school invests in more projectors, if the price allows, they should purchase projectors with the DLP chip which allows 3D.

In one presentation a UK school and Texas Instruments detailed how they had introduced 3D technology into the classrooms to great success. They conducted a controlled experiment in which students were split into 2 groups: 3D and 2D. The teacher used the same lesson plan and a script for their explanations. The final task was to create models. Without prompting, the 3D group all produced detailed 3D models while the 2D group produced flat, less accurate models.

More interaction

Texas Instruments is working towards allowing the teacher and students to interact with the 3D object - pulling it apart and rearranging it.

BETT Award Winner

Promethean won the BETT 2011 ICT Company of the Year Award.