5-Step Guide to Integrate and Manage Interactive Displays in Education Spaces

Over the last few years, the education sector has embraced integrating technology into their curriculum. Cue a global pandemic that has introduced the need for hybrid and remote learning, it has never been more important for schools and education institutions to have the latest devices and solutions in EdTech to enhance the overall teaching and learning experience.

According to LearnPlatform, during the 2020-2021 school year, districts in the U.S. each used an average of 1,449 different digital tools per month! This is a 52% increase over the 2019-2020 pre-pandemic levels. LearnPlatform’s CEO Karl Rectanus notes, “No matter the key focus of the technology, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of digital tools used in classrooms, whether virtual or in-person. Tech-enabled learning is here to stay and now is the time to ensure that ed tech is effective in supporting teaching and driving student outcomes.”¹

So, what does this mean? Digital transformation in educational spaces is here to stay and it’s impacting the way educators teach, the way students learn, and how IT teams are able to manage all these EdTech devices for the best learning outcomes. Classrooms will have to adapt to changing times and be outfitted with devices such as interactive displays for education. Therefore, it’s essential for IT teams to be equipped with the right tools and expertise to best utilize these interactive displays. After all, IT administrators and managers have a key role to play in pushing for digital transformation to positively affect the school’s learning and teaching culture.

Read on as we break down the five steps to integrate and manage interactive displays effectively in education spaces!

Oftentimes, people are comfortable with the status quo and are not very welcoming to change. Convincing them that new devices such as interactive displays can enhance tasks they are already doing can be, well, challenging. It’s important to educate key stakeholders and teachers in the school that the display’s capabilities can make their jobs easier and open up new ways to teach.

To earn their buy-in, it will be useful to present the benefits of interactive displays in classrooms and showcase different classroom scenarios in which interactive whiteboards can alleviate the teachers’ pain points such as enhancing in-class collaboration and student engagement with the use of diverse multimedia content and intuitive touchscreen capabilities. A great way to showcase these benefits and garner support is through an in-person or virtual demo of the interactive display technology so stakeholders can see for themselves!

As not all education institutions have the necessary devices and software to keep up with the connected world, embarking on digital transformation can be daunting and challenging. A lack of strategy with any new technology can intimidate and confuse new users and possibly lead to lower usage and waste of resources.

Before purchasing your interactive displays, it’s vital to set out clear goals on what the school hopes to achieve with integrating these devices into their classrooms and curriculum. Invite teachers and stakeholders to join in the discussions to outline measurable objectives and the subsequent steps to take. Some examples of good questions to consider include:

• What does the school like to accomplish with interactive displays? For example, are they used to kickstart STEAM curriculum or amplify esports in education?
• How should students use them during lessons? For example, are the displays reserved for group projects or video-assisted learning only?
• Are there any new learning arrangements such as hybrid learning that the school wishes to implement for the future? If yes, how can the interactive displays be used to ensure a smooth transition?

By deciding ahead of implementation how the interactive displays will be used, it sets the school up for success and makes teachers more comfortable with the adoption process and ensures for the IT team that these devices will be maximized to their full potential.

Once you have gotten the greenlight to procure the interactive displays for your institution, you will need to ensure that you have the right set up for your space(s) – display size, display accessories, software, etc. For example, a lecture hall will require a larger screen size as compared to a classroom, and a classroom may require a cart with a lift so it can easily be raised or lowered to accommodate students of different heights.

The software and control management system (CMS) are also important features to look at when purchasing the interactive displays. The IT team is often tasked with managing, updating, and controlling the school’s IT infrastructure, which includes multiple systems, software, and processes. A lot of these tasks have to be done manually as the IT personnel will have to check on every device using different processes physically. A centralized CMS will increase the IT team’s efficiency and productivity.

For example, ViewSonic offers myViewBoard manager to manage interactive displays – the browser-based application allows IT managers and verified admin users to update, schedule, broadcast and manage multiple displays simultaneously from any location through a secure, user-friendly remote management system. They then can easily install, delete, and update apps, send notifications, apply security settings, and schedule automated tasks from a single remote location. This streamlines many IT processes and saves IT personnel from wasting time attending to each and every device across the school.

Just as it’s helpful to hold a demo to secure buy-in for interactive displays, it’s equally important to have a more focused demo to showcase the different features of the display and how teachers can maximize their capabilities in their teaching methods. Whether virtual or in-person, it’s highly recommended to schedule some type of professional development training for your new investment. This training allows teachers to practice using the interactive display and its software to familiarize themselves with platform’s tools. This also ensures that the IT team can get accustomed to the centralized control system for managing multiple displays simultaneously.

Maintenance is crucial for extending the life of any product. Not only does it keep your interactive displays up to date with the latest software advancements, but it also stretches the investment the school has put in. One way to future-proof and extend the product life of your interactive displays is to pair them with a mini desktop PC.

A mini desktop PC, like a ViewBoard Box, acts like what its name says. It is essentially a PC that transforms any display into a supercomputer. It can be integrated into the school’s IT infrastructure to streamline multiple AV products, including interactive displays, projectors, monitors, and wireless presentation displays. By doing so, it creates an efficient ecosystem for the ideal digital school.

There is an extensive list of why IT personnel in education like having interactive displays implemented in their learning institutions. But whether it’s monitors or interactive displays, it’s important to integrate and manage the adoption of such devices properly to ensure success and overall satisfaction of stakeholders, teachers, students, and the IT team. Only then can digital transformation in schools make a positive impact on teaching and learning outcomes!

Ready to get started? We can help! As a valued ViewSonic partner, we can help you navigate moving through these five steps and beyond – contact us today for more information or get in touch to schedule a demo with one of our interactive display experts.