Sharp Electronics Corp.

June 10, 2021 - It may be one of the greatest pet peeves for teachers. You get some fancy new technology to use in the classroom, oohs and aahs abound, but it’s incompatible or difficult to use with existing software and other systems. Or you need to learn an entirely new system, so it becomes a major time investment that counters what you thought you’d save with the technology. In fact, a SAM Labs report found that more than one-third of teachers spend their free time learning tech that they need to use in the classroom. "A" for effort, but after all the work they do with our kids, teachers need a break!  

What educators need – and what will invariably make their jobs easier – is technology that can link up to existing devices seamlessly and that will require minimal effort to learn. This is where having an open platform solution can provide huge benefits. For interactive displays, open platform is essentially an agnostic tool that can connect with any other devices in the classroom environment.

Personalizing the Education Experience

One of the critical benefits for teachers and students alike is that an open platform system enables a more personalized, one-on-one learning environment. They are able to wirelessly communicate with mobile devices or third-party applications, and they can do so on technology that is already familiar to the students. Many of them are using tablets and other mobile devices at home, so giving them platforms in school that they already know only makes sense.

Open platform also means you can integrate with any number of learning management systems, such as Blackboard, Promethean Activinspire, Google Classroom and Splashtop, to name a few. There is no need to learn entirely new systems, and you can take advantage of your existing classroom infrastructure and software, which saves time and money, but more importantly, provides for more productive and engaging lessons.

Hassle-free Collaboration

Classrooms using this interactive display technology become highly effective training grounds for true workforce collaboration later in life. For instance, the Sharp AQUOS BOARD interactive display system allows up to 100 students to view and participate in a presentation while in the same lecture hall – or remotely through VPN – using any tablet, smartphone or computer. Educators can present graphics, websites and videos, while also freely saving and sharing classroom lesson plans, annotations and lectures with all their students, no matter where they are. If the last 15 months living through the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that learning to navigate a hybrid/virtual environment will be table stakes for those entering the workforce.

School administrators also benefit from a cost standpoint. Open platform means the school doesn’t have to provide devices for students who already own them. They can just use what they have and connect with the school’s technology as needed. In addition, state-of-the-art equipment like the AQUOS BOARD are essentially maintenance-free, with no antiquated bulbs to replace, no shadows and no wait time for the device to power up or down.

Getting the tech right is only half the battle (the other half is wrangling and inspiring a classroom full of young students). But with the right open platform technology, one that is compatible with existing systems, the rest of the job can be made so much easier. It’s not just about saving time and solving for collaboration now. It’s about having the best tools at your disposal to help prepare our next generation of leaders. For more information on Sharp’s open platform solutions, click here: https://business.sharpusa.com/Infographics/benefits-of-open-platform-interactive-displays-in-the-classroom.