As teachers, we’re familiar with the ups and downs of the job. Anyone who’s stepped in front of a classroom has had to overcome short student attention spans, their indifference towards the lessons, and endless discipline. Plus, getting students ready for exams that can impact the rest of their lives weighs heavy on us. Sometimes being a teacher can seem like the hardest job in the world. 

But new tools are changing how teachers and students interact, whether in the classroom or remotely. Education technology (Edtech) is helping teachers confront these challenges head on. BenQ interactive smart boards are giving teachers a powerful new tool for keeping students engaged by creating a collaborative classroom.

Like a whiteboard, a smart board has smart capabilities like a touch screen, internet connectivity and the ability to connect with multiple devices. Students and teachers can engage with the screen simultaneously during games, question-and-answer sessions, quizzes, and more. It can be a whiteboard or a computer, or both.

BenQ Interactive Flat Panels are a game changer for the classroom. Students  can collaborate from their own devices in the classroom or at home, opening the door for new interactive learning models. So what do smart boards actually do?

Studies show that most students (and adults) can only concentrate for around ten minutes before our minds start to wander. Smart boards keep students attentive by letting them explore and create rather than passively sit and listen. 

Using a smart board, teachers can show students videos from Youtube on the fly, then have an interactive discussion either from in the classroom or from home. Students can use BenQ’s EZWrite app to add to the discussion from their own devices. They can brainstorm and present ideas on the smart board screen in front of the class. And with BenQ cloud collaboration, all students can get involved.

Smart boards bring the fun to classroom games without losing learning. The touch screen adds a new dimension to in-class games. Teachers can have students take quizzes, play jeopardy or boggle, or even have relay races with the touch-screen. 

Consider the classic game whack-a-mole. Using just a smart board, two flyswatters and by playing a song, the game comes alive. Younger students will be delighted while they learn. By reducing the distance between the touch point and the point displayed on the screen, BenQ Interactive Flat Panels are ideal for in-class games by removing the need for a stylus. On top of this, there’s no lag, meaning that the whack-a-mole action is in real time. 

For older students who may roll their eyes during classroom games, teachers can find a wordsearch or a fill-the-lyrics activity online, or even play sudoku. Another favorite is using EZWrite to play Pictionary. Teachers can have one student draw a picture and the others write down the word on their individual devices. It’s fun, interactive, and keeps students engaged. 

Whiteboard games are nothing new. But with a BenQ Interactive Flat Panel, teachers can update classic games for the connected classroom.

BenQ Interactive Flat Panels feature sleek, interactive touch displays with anti-reflection glass, making the picture sharper and more readable so students never miss a detail. Students can learn creative writing on cloud devices, edit stop motion movies, and share ideas with dual screen mode. They can annotate and mind-map, and present slides to the rest of the class. 

Teachers are the first to know how much paper is wasted in the classroom. Students usually throw away paper worksheets and notes after light use. In fact, around 40 percent of school waste is paper. With BenQ Interactive Flat Panels, the class can go paperless. Students can take notes with EZWrite on their own devices and save documents for later, they no longer need to waste endless amounts of paper.

Teachers can use online resources such as National Geographic, Vox and TedTalks to inspire students by streaming this educational content on the big screen. YouTube, e-books, infographics, and academic journals are mostly free to use in the classroom. With a smart board, teachers can leverage these resources to instantly broaden young learner’s imaginations.

There’s a smart board for every type of teacher. 

Some teachers prefer to stand in front of the class and explain concepts in simple terms. BenQ Interactive Flat Panels have a rapid response time and can turn handwriting into easy-to-read fonts. 

Some teachers prefer to keep the classroom interactive with discussions. This teacher can use the smart board for creating mind maps, recording questions, casting content from their personal device, and review saved whiteboards, and do quizzes on Kahoot. 

For teachers who like to give students projects, smart boards let students work collaboratively on shared documents via DMS, present via dual screen mode, and annotate on the cloud. 

With BenQ Interactive Flat Panels, online classrooms are as equally effective as offline classrooms. Using EZWrite Live, students can use the whiteboard from home as if they were in school, writing on their tablet device with the output appearing on the smart board. 

Smart boards facilitate blended learning with dual screens. With the integration of BenQ Interactive Flat Panel and Smart Projector, teachers can see online students engaging in lessons and answering questions in real time, ensuring every student feels included with a built-in video conferencing and collaboration app.

Hygiene is on everybody’s mind now. In the United States, an average of 4.5 sick days are taken by K through 12 students per year, and US schools lose an estimated $10.7 billion a year due to student sickness — pre-pandemic. And now there’s more urgency than ever to protect kids from viral and bacterial threats. 

BenQ Interactive Flat Panels feature germ resistant touch screens with antibacterial compounds that kill 99% of germs. BenQ’s touch screens are safe against sticky fingers without the need for continuous cleaning and disinfecting. BenQ Interactive Flat Panels also have low blue light and anti-glare functionality so students and teachers no longer have to strain their eyes looking at a screen. Additionally, a built-in air monitor measures CO2 in the air and sends alerts if air quality reaches dangerous levels.  

The pandemic has accelerated digital transformations in every industry, driving major changes in education too. With BenQ Interactive Flat Panels, schools now have the tools to catch up to the new normal and keep students engaged and having fun, both in the classroom or from home. What hasn’t changed is the fact that teachers still have a challenging but highly rewarding job. But BenQ Interactive Flat Panels are here to help by keeping the class collaborative, fun, and connected. Contact us to learn more.