Most teachers wouldn’t want to be without interactive teaching technology but most would welcome advances in technology that left behind the problems inherent to the current products and made interactive technology easier to select, install and most of all to use.
Despite new versions of whiteboards and projectors with short-throw lenses that could be boom-mounted above them, it was the arrival of the interactive LCD flatscreen in schools that appeared – at last - to answer the needs of schools, teachers and their students.
Sahara Presentation Systems were the pioneers of the interactive LCD screens into education, launching the CleverLCD Touch at BETT 2009, a 65-inch diagonal, high definition LCD display with an integrated touch screen.
This year’s BETT saw Sahara launch the CleverLCD Touch Plus, the result of a year’s experience of the early adopters of its first interactive LCD and their feedback with extended capabilities.
Over the last 12 months, Sahara and its reseller partners have been working with the education community and have installed multiple systems across the UK, including a number of schools for Cumbria Education Service.
The authority’s John Nixon was quoted as saying: “The advantages of an interactive LCD display over the traditional pairing of an interactive whiteboard and a projector are apparent for both staff and students. The CleverLCD Touch is useable in all lighting conditions. The shadow if the teacher does not obscure the content displayed on the screen, and the health and safety concerns posed by projector dazzle and projectors suspended on boom arms, or from ceilings, are much reduced.”
Feedback from schools over the past year has helped Sahara in the design of the CleverLCD Touch Plus, an all-in-one interactive LCD with powerful PC and a Blu-Ray Disc player (capable of showing Full High Definition content) built into the widescreen format Full HD screen, which can be 55-inch or 65-inch diagonal.
The powerful built-in PC is supplied with a choice of Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 operating system, the latter having the advantage of supporting multi-touch. While CleverLCD Touch Plus can be supplied with Sahara’s interactive Lynx software pre-loaded, schools are free to run any third-party interactive software they choose.
An amplifier and stereo speakers have been built-in to provide sound and a microphone port enables a teacher mic to be added. The provision of VGA, DVI HDMI five USB ports and 6-in-1 card reader also means there are plenty of options for connecting other devices such as a digital TV or satellite receiver, a printer, visualiser, laptop, USB memory stick or memory card.
Indeed, all you need to turn a classroom interactive is built into CleverLCD Touch Plus, which can be placed on a table, a stand or hung on the wall. It has just one mains plug and needs only one cable to connect to a school network for Internet access. Even that can be dispensed with if a wireless network is in place.
All the cables connecting the built-in elements are contained within the LCD screen so it is quick and easy to install and set-up. Unpack it. Put it on table or the optional mobile stand or hang it on the wall. Plug it in and switch it on.
No screen calibration is needed and in the unlikely event of a problem, it is all covered by a single support call and a single warranty.
Like its predecessor, CleverLCD Touch Plus has a bright TV-like screen with a crisp and clear image so there is no need to close the blinds. There are no bright lights to dodge and no annoying body shadows to obscure content and since the LCD screen does not need a high powered fan to keep it from over-heating like a projector, it is virtually silent.
This is good news for teachers and students that use interactive technology daily in the classroom but the more significant advantage for schools and local authorities is the price of the new CleverLCD Touch Plus.
Despite the obvious advantages, it has been the price which has kept interactive LCD beyond the reach of many education buyers looking to replace their ageing whiteboards.
Sahara has put an end to that limitation, setting very affordable pricing levels of £4,500 for the 55-inch and £6,799 for the 65-inch version.
This is significantly lower than the combined costs of the CleverLCD Touch Plus elements - the LCD screen, the interactive touch interface, the PCD, Blu-Ray player, amplifier and speakers.
It also makes CleverLCD Touch Plus comparable to the total cost of hardware and installation of an interactive whiteboard with projector and audio system.
Experienced users of projection-based interactive whiteboards will also be well aware that running costs of interactive whiteboards and projectors add substantially to the purchase cost.
Adding the cost of regular filter changes and replacement projection lamps to the cost of repairing aging whiteboards means interactive whiteboards get progressively more expensive to maintain over time.
In contrast, interactive LCDs represent an initial capital cost and require minimal maintenance over their lifetime.
The all-metal screen bezel of the frame surrounds a screen of 4mm toughened safety glass that can withstand a 0.5kg steel ball being swung into its face, ensuring it is capable of surviving the rigours of the tough classroom environment.
The backlight of the CleverLCD Touch Plus screen has a 60,000+ hour life, which is 15 times longer than a projector, Sahara suggests, providing a screen operation life of up to 25 years.
Sahara says that it is these qualities which have led independent studies to conclude that over a 10 year period (the typical life expectation of an interactive whiteboard) the CleverLCD Touch Plus is far more cost effective.
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