Hardware

Interactive Digital Whiteboard Best Practices for K-12 Classrooms

These tips will help educators and IT leaders transform their education environments with Promethean, SHARP, LG and Samsung interactive displays.

Mehedi Hasan Shoab

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Mehedi Hasan Shoab is a freelance writer specializing in Software as a Service, marketing and real estate. Follow him on Twitter @MhShoab.

The introduction of digital whiteboards in classrooms has altered teachers’ and students’ roles. Students have more options to actively participate in their learning, instead of absorbing information from textbooks or teacher lectures.

According to a study conducted by Ataturk University, students who learned using an interactive whiteboard performed better on standardized examinations than those who didn’t use the technology. The study states, “Visual materials, paintings, symbols and screen designs facilitate and increase the permanence of learning.”

Moreover, instructional technology like the interactive whiteboard encourages student engagement, fosters cooperative learning and helps learners develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The digital whiteboard allows students to share information, engage kinesthetically with class materials and collaborate with peers. Thanks to touch-screen and screen-sharing options, students can do this from their seats or come to the board to work.

Using digital whiteboards for interactive learning has many benefits, so it’s important that educators are able to use the technologies to their fullest extent. Digital whiteboard troubleshooting and exploration shouldn’t get in the way of learning.

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Here are some tips for getting the most out of this educational technology in the classroom:

Tips and Best Practices for Promethean Screen-Sharing

With the Promethean screen-share function, teachers and students can collaborate from anywhere in the classroom by wirelessly sharing their screens with the interactive panels. In an interactive classroom, educators can move around while teaching, which allows them to interact with students one on one while maintaining complete control over the content shared on the whiteboard.

Promethean’s wireless screen-sharing is a two-way street. Teachers can also engage with students’ shared displays straight from an ActivPanel, allowing students to watch teacher involvement in real time on their devices.

To share screens between student devices and a Promethean ActivPanel, first ensure students have the Screen Share Sender or Chrome extension downloaded. From there:

Select Screen Share from the Unified Menu on the digital whiteboard to see the panel name, panel ID and waiting room
Have students open the Screen Share Sender or Chrome extension on their devices and enter the panel ID and their name
Add up to four students from the waiting room and click “Share”

Educators can also change the name of the ActivPanel or refresh the panel ID in the window that opens when they click Screen Share in the menu.

READ THE REVIEW: Facilitate seamless interaction with Promethean’s ActivPanel.

Tips and Best Practices for SHARP Pens for Collaborative Learning

With a digital whiteboard, the accompanying pen or stylus can elevate lessons with notes and other visual aids. The SHARP Pen is no exception.

When working on the SHARP interactive display, educators can choose between Overlay and Whiteboard mode. Overlay mode allows users to write over anything on the screen, whether it’s a browser page, an application or something else being shared. The latter transforms the monitor into a digital whiteboard.

Save these tips to get the most out of your SHARP pen:

Set up the pen with calibration, which can be found in the “Touch Panel Settings Tool.”
Use the pen to embed images into work when drawing feels intimidating or time-consuming.
Change the setting from “Dual Touch Gesture” to “Simultaneous Drawing with Multiple Fingers” to allow up to four users to write on the board concurrently.

To use additional pens for simultaneous drawing, educators must add each pen individually. Go to “Touch pen settings” from the pen icon on the task bar. On the settings screen, choose a line that does not have a pen registered and touch Registration. On the pen, hold down function buttons 1 and 3 for at least five seconds, releasing when the battery indicator blinks at least two times.

Each pen has its own menu of beautifully designed icons that allow quick access to pen settings and features.

If educators are having trouble with their SHARP pens, ensure the batteries in the pens are fully charged, the tips aren’t worn down and the writing surface isn’t obstructed.

Tips and Best Practices for Educators Using LG’s Digital Whiteboard

With the LG Interactive Digital Board, materials shared for classroom discussions and assignments can be displayed in Ultra HD resolution. The IPS panel delivers a broad viewing angle, color accuracy and enough brightness for all students to see the materials on the board. The webOS 3.0+ smart platform also enables collaboration without the need for a PC.

Try these tips for using the LG Interactive Digital Board:

Download the app: Educators should download the Interactive Digital Board app for more control over the display. This allows them to restrict participation access with a PIN found through the IDB app. Those who have the PIN can interact with the board as they please.

Explore the touch screen: LG’s Interactive Digital Board allows teachers and students to use their hands or pens on the touch-screen surface for drawing, note-taking and other forms of kinesthetic learning. Users can write notes and erase them with the palm of their hand, much as on a traditional whiteboard.

Educators can also set a floating toolbar anywhere on the screen by pressing and holding a touch point when using the writing function in IDB app mode. Then, they can drag it around with a fingertip or open and minimize it with a single tap.

WATCH NOW: Tech untethers K–12 teachers from their desks.

Sharing screens to the board: When connecting digital devices for sharing screens to the board, HDMI or DisplayPort cords are preferred. The Interactive Digital Board displays a list of shared screens, so a presenter can select what they want to display in full-screen mode.

Tips and Best Practices for Samsung Flip Digital Whiteboards

Samsung’s Flip digital whiteboard displays encourage collaboration and teamwork for easy sharing, drawing, annotation and searching.

The Flip digital whiteboards are flexible; Samsung offers wall-mounted and portable options to accommodate any classroom’s educational needs. The display can also be flipped, converting between portrait and landscape mode. It can also effortlessly switch between in-person, hybrid and remote contexts on a single, smart display.

The Flip display supports up to four simultaneous users who can add information, sketch and move the screen with the Samsung Pen or their fingers.

Visualize any class materials on Samsung’s digital whiteboards with these tips:

Import and export files through USB drives and other devices.
Link a smartphone to Flip by tapping the mobile device against the bottom of the whiteboard. Then, control the mobile device’s screen from the Flip and vice versa.
Wirelessly connect student devices to the Flip using the drop-down menu. Select “Export,” then click “Screen Share.” Choose “Wireless” and wait for the devices to appear.

CHECK IT OUT: Samsung’s interactive displays flip expectations for digital whiteboards.

As today’s digital whiteboards continue to transform classrooms, educators and students should know how to get the most out of this technology. The result is a digitally integrated, highly effective learning environment that promotes engagement and collaboration.

Samsung, Promethean, Getty Images: Marilyn Nieves