As a part of our review of the up and coming 2011 year, we are please to bring you an Education Technology Forecast.

This forecast does not claim to represent all important education technologies in their entirety; but every effort has been made to highlight technologies which are rising in their usage and importance to learning environment.  Naturally it is written from the perspective of the technology's with which DIB is associated, that being AV Communications systems.

Please review some of the HOT products for 2011 and feel free to contact us should you have any questions.

Quick links:  1.  Interactive Whiteboards  2.  Networked Projectors  3.  Document cameras   4.  Digital video systems  5.  Video conferencing

Possibly the most exciting "new" technology of 2011, Interactive Projectors will gain traction at the expense of Interactive Whiteboards which have been around for a number of years.  The Interactive Projectors are simple to use can be installed for around 40% less than an Interactive Whiteboard and standard projector.  These will prove popular for K-12 education as schools can roll the technology out to a greater number of rooms due to the reduced cost compared to Interactive Whiteboard installations.

We expect to see more OEM's release Interactive Projector models during 2011 and existing players to release additional models with enhanced features.

Interactive Whiteboards will continue to be popular especially where they offer functionality not available in Interactive Projectors such as finger touch control.

Interactive Whiteboards and Projectors enable the teacher to create, edit and save new and existing works on the interactive surface, as well as edit existing images and documents taken from a computer. The interactive surface operates as one big "touch screen", enabling you to search the web, view images and videos, and display documents. Teachers often use the interactive suurface to write handwritten notes directly onto pictures and documents, then save them for use in another class or distribute them to students. The interactive surface can be combined with a document camera and projector to capture images.  You can then write/draw notes directly onto the image.

DIB offers both Interactive Whiteboards and Interactive Projectors to enhance the learning experience in the classroom.

 

Interactive Projectors and Whiteboards Facilitate

• Ability to save and recall previous work, or create whole lesson plans, even live on the fly!
• Draw directly on top of pictures, graphs and text (taken from any computer application).  Ideal for science, maths, music and graphics lessons.
• Use board in “mouse mode” and control PC from whiteboard

How will they be used?

The Interactive Whiteboard can be integrated with a projector and document camera to create a full interactive learning environment.  A teacher using the whiteboard can write up their notes, save it, clean the board and write up a new set of notes.  When a question is asked by one of the students, the teacher can bring back up the first set of notes, and edit them if required. 

Interactive Whiteboards: Click here for more information

Interactive Projectors: Click here for more information

Projectors have made impressive technological advances in recent time. They can now be added to existing computer networks, they can produce high quality video, and they are smaller, brighter, and less expensive than the projectors most schools are currently using. The next great advancement is networked projection technology (both wired and wireless).

Projector manufacturers in the DIB range such as Epson and Panasonic have a range of networked projector options.  It is now possible to display computer images onto a projector via a wireless or wired network connection.

 

Features of Wireless Technology

• Toggle between multiple computer screens for projector display (so long as they are all network connected)
• Allow users to present from a computer placed anywhere in a room (or even the anywhere on the network!).
• Monitor the status of the projector remotely (check faults, change settings etc)
  

How will they be used?

Networked LCD Projectors will provide increased flexibility and interactivity to the learning environment.  There are a wide range of possible applications.

A teacher might utilise the projector to demonstrate a principal to students in a computer lab class.  As the teacher moves around the room they might find a student completing a very good example.  The students computer desktop could be linked to the projector without the need to plug in or out new wires (all completed over the computer network).

In a completely wireless example, the project need have nothing more than power connected.  The computer images from a range of possible collaborating users could then be displayed via a Wireless connection.  The ESPON projectors we are working with are already 802.11g capable, but even under the 11Mbs standards the image responsiveness is really quite good and usable!  The only exception for this is streaming video which is still best left to the traditional VGA or Video hardwired connections.

Click here for more information

Document Cameras consist of a small video camera mounted on a stand to display documents or objects placed below. Teachers who use them aren't limited to showing 2-D slides or text, because document cameras can capture 3-D objects, documents with text, as well as pictures - all in REAL time. In addition, document cameras such as the DC150 have the ability to record what they are showing into individual snapshot memory, as well as to freeze-frame a selection that can be recalled at any time during a presentation.

Document Camera Features

• Shows live video footage of objects underneath the camera.  Ideal for science experiments, technology and art demonstrations onto a big screen (I.e. TV or LCD Projector)
• Capture images during presentation for saving, printing or viewing later
• Laser guiding to highlight viewable area below camera for ease of use
• Ability to connect to multiple outputs (PC, Projector, TV etc)

How will they be used?

Document Camera’s may soon become standard issue in science, technology and art classrooms the world over.  No longer will thirty children be crowding around a teacher’s desk.  Now they will be watching it on a television screen or on a 100” projected image.  The document camera will allow teachers to fit more into their classes, giving the students maximum time to practice what they see.

Click here for more information

Digital video has been around in one form or another for a while now, but only recently has the technology matured to a level suitable for school wide deployment.  Content can be streamed all over the school to outputs such as televisions, projectors and computers.

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Digital video makes video on demand a possibility in schools.  It enhances students study opportunities, and helps staff plan and organise their lessons. 

 

Digital Video Features

• Ability to stream the same video to multiple users simultaneously
• Ability to broadcast live to any number of network locations
• Ability to have multiple users watch different stages of same video
• Ability for teachers to book video requirement and access without the need for human intervention (saves work load)
• Video images will not degenerate so no need to re-purchase or DUB etc
• Capture live footage to be saved later.
• Video can be captioned and catalogued to suit specific classroom requirements - so you might take 10 min from one show and 10 min from another.

How will they be used?

This technology has an amazing future.  There are issues to be managed such as copyright, but the potential for ease of access to masses's of information is significant.  Content will be streamed directly onto projectors, or students will log in and view the content in their own time.  Selected video’s could potentially be accessed from home, and all this can be controlled from one central computer.

At DIB Australia we have been exploring a range of digital video solutions for Education.  We now have a product which will deliver on all the above features and more.

 

Video conferencing is another technology which has been around for many years, but is now becoming more affordable and deployable.

A video conference is a system through which you can communicate with a person or persons at a remote location, much like using a telephone, except this technology allows you to see video images also.  So you can see and hear the person(s) you are communicating with.

In the past the technology has been very expensive and special ISDN telephones services were required at both ends to make it work.  Now the technology comes in all shapes an sizes from very basic single user units to proper site to site conference systems and can generally be deployed across existing internet connections.

Video conferencing features:

• Ability to meet face to face with other staff members at other campus' without the time spend traveling
• Can be integrated with Interactive Whiteboards to allow the delivery of a specialised class at more than one campus simultaneously
• Can be used to consult other specialists in other states whom might normally not be able to contribute to the curriculum program or even professional development
• Is now more affordable than ever
• Can generally be deployed across existing school networks

How will it be used?

Video conferencing will be used in a range of ways within school environments.  The uses will only expand as the technology becomes even more affordable and easy to use.

Initially it will cut down on costs by allowing staff at geographically separate campus locations to meet without the need to travel.  It will also make more diverse curriculum possible by providing specialist classes speak across two locations via video conference.

A video conference via the internet is just as possible whether it be between two suburbs in one state or two countries across the world.  The opportunity for collaboration amongst students of different cultures will be amazing.