Interactive Displays in Education
Students currently in education are first-generation technical gurus. They have been born into a world of technology and are all smartphone natives. This has enabled them to easily engage with education technology and has triggered a demand for a new approach to teaching.
Instead of lessons spent spoon-feeding students information, technology can be utilised to collaborate and advance communication. Further adoption of technology in the classroom has allowed a more personalised and self-directed experience for students.
‘From a technology perspective, the crucial enabler of interactive learning today is the upgrade of Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) to Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPDs). There used to be a massive variant in the cost per inch of IFPDs over IWB but this has reduced considerably. The penetration of touch screens in UK schools is exceptionally high. Adoption of IWBs and IFPDs in the UK is at least three years ahead of any other country, according to Futuresource Consulting, and this is supported by the excellent knowledge and capability of the AV channel.’ - Rhys Lynn, Interactive Manager
An interactive approach to teaching not only further engages students, but it also maintains their interested in longer. This approach also allows teachers to engage students on both an auditory and visual level.
As first-generation digital gurus, students are used to interacting with touch screens daily, this technology allows for the comfortable expression of ideas in a group setting and improved communication and retention as a result.
Some of the latest models offer 20 points of touch, multi-coloured pens and eraser functions, all in 4K resolution.
We have seen a 90.75% increase* in demand for interactive displays from our customers in the education sector* and this shows no sgns of slowing down.
* Based on Midwich and Square One sales from July 2018 to June 2019 compared to July 2017 to June 2018. Data taken 03.07.2019, exclusions and omissions exempt.
Interactive Displays in Primary Education
Primary school teachers want to load their students with both knowledge and confidence to use in later life. Interactive displays encourage them to participate at the front of the class and collaborate with others. Advances in multi-touch displays have provided an easy-to-use solution that allows multiple students to participate in the same activity, working together.
Gamification of lessons through incorporating quizzes can make lessons more interesting and fun for children. It also paves the way for esports later in life, which can now be studied at degree level and can even help students win scholarships for higher education.
More interactive displays than ever now feature software integration. SMART offer a bespoke learning platform with their SMART learning suite and iiyama's 03 series integrates with both Office 365 and G-Suite. Interactive displays that feature software integration are free to install anywhere, they do not rely on an external PC nearby. This has been embraced, as some primary schools have begun to introduce interactive displays into nontraditional learning spaces, such as libraries where children can enjoy learning in smaller groups.
Interactive Displays in Secondary Education
The benefits of collaboration are particularly apparent in later key stages where students may not be as eager to share with the class, and engagement can become more of a challenge. Using interactive software allows students to join in and participate from their own devices. This can have a major impact on student engagement. These functions are suited to every student, shyer pupils can remain seated while interacting with the content on the screen and more confident pupils have the option of coming to the front of the class and interacting directly on the display.
Embedding live information and YouTube videos into the lesson is easily achieved on any interactive display, and this can help students better understand a concept. Rather than purely working from textbooks, which are expensive and can quickly become outdated, teachers can directly embed live information into a presentation and interact with it on the display. This not only ensures students are learning from the most up to date information, but it also saves teachers time, not having to remember to update presentations.
Interactive Displays in Higher Education
Educators have recognised the potential of interactive displays in the classroom and their influence on learning outcomes across the school system. Since interactive displays have become an essential part of every classroom in lower education, there has been an increase in demand for them to enter every university classroom and lecture hall.
University students pay an average of £27,000 per course, paying students will not be impressed if formal teaching areas aren’t kitted out at least to the standard they were accustomed to at school.
In university lecture halls and large classrooms, interactive screens are less used to encourage students to get up at the front of the class but to facilitate education in other ways. Often the lecturer or tutor navigates the class from the front using the touch functionality and students can participate on their own device when invited to, whether is it a phone, tablet or laptop. Interactive displays are easy to connect to and many of the current generation models allow for BYOD (bring your own device) functionality.
Collaborative, workgroup-oriented spaces with the latest touch-screen, content sharing and even video conferencing technologies are popping up in University campus’ as educators have noticed that these devices are not just a method of displaying content but for facilitating collaboration and further learning. Especially as 20 point touch screens allow multiple collaborators at once.
Midwich and Interactive Displays
Our teachers and leaders demand performance, reliability and flexibility. The 02 and 04-Series iLFD’s from iiyama empowers all education, training and presentation environments to seamlessly deliver engaging content. Collaborative tools and hybrid solution deck of Android and Slot PC feature ensure that no matter what your interactive aspiration, iiyama has the simplified solution. This is why iiyama is the trusted Interactive Display brand for many of the world’s largest organisations in education and business alike. With sizes from 55”, 65”, 75”, 86” and 98” everyone will benefit from the flexibility and clarity that the 02 and 04-series deliver.
