In today’s digital age, educational technology (EdTech) empowers educators to tailor their instruction and create engaging lessons while offering students personalized learning, incredible resources, and the ability to provide real-time feedback to their teachers. With EdTech being such an integral part of 21st century classrooms, schools are demanding comprehensive, reliable, and adaptable EdTech solutions, and interactive learning platforms are at the heart of this.
Interactive learning platforms are revolutionizing education by making learning more engaging, collaborative, accessible, and effective. However, with so many options available, choosing the right platform can feel overwhelming. This guide is here to help! We’ll walk you through the key factors to consider, from lesson planning tools and student engagement features to data security and compatibility with existing hardware. Keep reading as we dive into these key considerations to equip you to find the perfect interactive learning platform that empowers both educators and learners.
Interactive Learning Platforms: Key Features for Teachers to Consider
Interactive learning platforms should sit at the center of the education ecosystem, so teachers need one that goes beyond the basics. To cultivate 21st-century skills in students, it should empower teachers with the tools and resources to craft engaging lessons that promote deep comprehension and individualized learning experiences. Equally important, it must facilitate students’ active participation, collaboration, and communication within the learning process.
Most interactive display manufacturers offer their own interactive learning platform: ViewSonic has myViewBoard, SMART has SMART Notebook, ClearTouch has Chorus, Promethean as ActivInspire, etc. And those are just to name a few options available. So let’s take a look at the top features teachers should consider when evaluating which interactive platform is best for your needs.
1. Interactivity in the Classroom
Gone are the days of passive learning, where students simply absorbed information without playing an active role in their learning. Today, the aim is to foster peer collaboration, engagement with digital tools, and teacher-student communication within the classroom. To meet these demands, educators should consider interactive learning platforms that put lesson interactivity first.
Great online learning platforms go beyond traditional lesson delivery by offering a range of interactive elements, from virtual classrooms and multimedia presentations to discussion forums and dynamic assessments. By employing these resources, instructors can craft student-centered lessons that cater to diverse learning preferences and encourage participation. This can help improve the engagement, motivation, and comprehension of students.
Additionally, teachers should consider whether these platforms promote the skills students need to thrive in their future careers – collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. Interactive platforms equipped with shared documents, real-time communication, and collaborative project tools can develop these competencies. Keep in mind that learning can be fun, so also consider whether the digital learning platform can develop these competencies through gamified features or integration with virtual environments, such as metaverse learning.
2. Lesson Planning Tools
In traditional classrooms, physical materials like textbooks and handouts play a significant role. Interactive learning platforms have changed this, streamlining lesson preparation by offering instant access to a variety of multimedia resources, such as pre-made lesson plans, quizzes, games, videos, and presentations. This frees teachers to focus their time on improving their teaching methods and creating personalized learning experiences. We think that myViewBoard’s ViewSonic Originals stands out in this regard, as it provides educators with an extensive range of pre-made multimedia lesson content.
While pre-made resources are valuable, they don’t always align with individual needs or curriculum changes. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider platforms that make resource customization – or lesson creation from scratch – user-friendly with features like drag-and-drop functionality and templates. ViewSonic’s myViewBoard Whiteboard is great for this, using its infinite canvas powered by the OLF format to deliver dynamic lessons. It allows for personalized teaching as teachers can make real-time adjustments to lesson content to match student comprehension.
3. Integration and Compatibility with Existing Tools
Just like making sure the pieces of a puzzle fit together, teachers should consider how well potential interactive learning platforms fit in with the mix of devices, operating systems, and software in their education ecosystem. The cross-device compatibility of an interactive learning platform is important as it promotes accessibility, ensuring that teachers and students can make the most of its features on their preferred devices. Choosing a platform that offers both web-based and installed apps sets the stage for a smooth flow of data, resources, and tools between teachers and students.
The chosen online learning platform shouldn’t just seamlessly integrate with your current workflow; it should also be adaptable to the evolving landscape of EdTech. Opting for a platform designed with future compatibility in mind guarantees that the time teachers invest learning the platform and developing materials for it will pay off for years to come. This ensures that lesson materials will evolve alongside EdTech developments and readily accommodate curriculum updates.
For example, to seamlessly slot into educators’ workflows and facilitate effortless creation, editing, and sharing of resources, myViewBoard works across mobile and desktop devices and even offers free upgrading of outdated digital whiteboarding formats. This helps to preserve teachers’ existing materials for a smooth migration process.
Interactive Learning Platforms: Key Features for IT Admin to Consider
Choosing the best interactive platform for your school’s needs goes beyond just educator considerations. To get the best return on your technology investment, the platform needs to align with the school’s overarching goals, technical capabilities, and budget. From an administrative side, the right interactive learning platform can boost management efficiency and simplify administrative tasks, from handling student information to improving communication tools. This can help to supercharge resource allocation and communication, creating an education ecosystem where student engagement soars and learning goals are smashed. For this to happen, IT admins need to contribute their technical wisdom, making sure the chosen platform fits in smoothly with the school’s existing network infrastructure. So let’s take a look at the top features IT admin should consider when evaluating which interactive platforms.
1. Cybersecurity and Data Protection
Considering how common cloud-based solutions and remote learning have become, the need for strong cybersecurity measures has skyrocketed. Interactive learning platforms contain sensitive student data, so administrators need to ensure the airtight security of school data. This makes it important to consider potential interactive learning platforms based on their security features: Does it offer remote access security? And what about user permission management? Can it withstand advanced cyber threats?
An ideal platform goes the extra mile with its cybersecurity controls. An advanced educational platform ensures the safety of school data by giving administrators centralized control over user permissions, access logs, remote desktop control, and firmware updates. ViewSonic’s myViewBoard Manager app is particularly good at this, handing IT staff real-time insights into device health, network connectivity, software performance, and security events monitoring.
2. Support, Training, and Maintenance
For seamless and secure operation of an interactive learning platform, regular maintenance, real-time monitoring, and prompt troubleshooting are key features. Therefore, as evaluators, IT Admin should explore whether the solution equips IT staff with responsive technical support, handy troubleshooting tips, and comprehensive documentation. Even better, it should come armed with robust training options and solid support tailored to teachers and administrative staff.
Because not everyone on the school staff is a tech wizard, getting a platform up and running can be tricky. This requires continuous support, so self-service solutions like user forums, online communities, and knowledge bases are very handy. Even better, a great solution will strengthen the educating team with professional development opportunities that meet their various learning preferences, like on-demand training modules, virtual workshops, webinars, and personalized sessions.
3. Overall Value
School administrators become head planners in integrating advanced learning platforms, coordinating between stakeholders, developing training initiatives, and creating an effective communication network. On top of this, they need to craft a comprehensive budget that covers the cost of the platform’s license or subscription fees, as well as potential hardware upgrades, replacements, supplementary software, and continuous maintenance support.
This makes it clear as day why implementing new platforms can be a headache. So, administrators should weigh the cost, scalability, and set-up flexibility of potential solutions: Is it easy to set up? Is it locked to proprietary hardware? Does it slot into the school’s existing education ecosystem? Are there licensing costs associated with the software? Asking these questions can help to avoid major disruptions and costs.
We like a device-agnostic solution like ViewSonic’s myViewBoard because it addresses these issues. These platforms accommodate changing IT requirements by providing a consistent user experience across devices, free from the constraints of proprietary hardware. If a device-agnostic learning platform is opted for, then it can function during the learning platform migration period, minimizing disruptions while the new hardware gets integrated. What’s more, there are no licensing costs for myViewBoard teaching software.
What is the Best Interactive Learning Platform for Schools?
Choosing the right interactive learning platform for a school involves balancing the considerations of teachers and IT administrators. Teachers should prioritize platforms that empower them to craft dynamic lessons, foster active student engagement, and accommodate various devices and future trends. Meanwhile, IT admin need to ensure seamless integration, robust cybersecurity, and continuous support, training, and maintenance. Striking this balance ensures that the chosen platform not only enhances the teaching and learning experience but also aligns effectively with the school’s technological infrastructure and long-term goals.
With all this considered, we believe ViewSonic’s myViewBoard ecosystem stands out as an outstanding interactive learning platform for schools of all sizes. It checks all of the boxes that matter by empowering teachers and seamlessly integrating with existing workflows and IT infrastructure. As a result, it presents a comprehensive and forward-looking interactive learning solution that meets the needs of schools today and tomorrow.
Interested in learning more about myViewBoard? Schedule a demo with us today!
