Digitally native children are coming into classrooms already accustomed to communicating and learning through technology. Educators need to adapt accordingly with tools that optimize the classroom experience for students and teachers alike.

Next-generation interactive classroom technology, such as an interactive display, helps make learning more fun, collaborative and inclusive. In today’s educational environments — which may include in-class and at-home instruction simultaneously — effective teaching technology is of critical importance.

Mounted to the front wall of a classroom or lecture hall, Samsung’s 85-inch Interactive Display lets educators at all school levels adapt the way they teach and interact with their students. Here are six ways this display changes the teaching game:

1. Flexible connectivity

The Samsung interactive whiteboard is designed for diverse educational purposes, with multiple options for connecting and interacting. Native Airplay and inputs for various display signals, such as HDMI and DisplayPort, enable the smart classroom screen to connect to any type of device, no matter the OS. An Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) slot can load a compatible smaller PC, and the OPS can be preloaded with Windows OS and used for sharing education curriculum both on the Interactive Display and over Wi-Fi.

Users can plug in a USB drive, or they can mirror another device’s screen — such as their smartphone or tablet — and share it on the much larger 85-inch display in ultra high-definition (UHD) 4K resolution. With the display’s built-in internet connectivity and web browser, students can look up websites and annotate them right on screen, while teachers can do the same with online open educational resources.

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The 85-inch Interactive Display has a touch-out function that tethers on-screen views and syncs them between an external device and the larger screen. While a teacher or student is giving a presentation, they can share, edit and control content from their handheld device, replicating their view on the wall-mounted display and allowing them to move around the room as needed. This also works in reverse: Changes added on the display, such as annotations, are also synced to the smaller screen in real time.

2. Double-digit touch

Conventional collaboration tools like dry-erase boards are typically limited to one user at a time, but smart boards have the space and supporting technology for a group of people to develop and note their ideas together in real time, updating and editing on-screen visuals and creating original drawings. The sensitive touchscreen can accurately track as many as 20 simultaneous users.

For students learning and working remotely, sharing information from the smart board is as simple as emailing the recap files directly from the display, or storing them on the school network to be retrieved as needed.

3. More than just math

Chalk and dry-erase markers can do the basics, but the creative tools built into Samsung’s interactive whiteboard can garner attention and engagement. Writing with a stylus allows for a variety of pen colors, styles and widths — and feels like writing on paper. Images can be captured, cropped and edited right on screen. Kids can enhance existing visuals or create original work using a brush and working in watercolor or oil painting mode. The 85-inch display recognizes different brushes, plus each brushstroke’s sensitivity, and even allows color mixing.

Work done on the Interactive Display is easily saved and merged into documents, called rolls. As many as 20 screens’ worth of work fits in a single roll, which is easy to browse, save and share.

4. After-class communication

Educators can easily push work from their other computing devices to the interactive classroom display, screensharing with the whole class. It’s equally simple to save and distribute the output, whether it’s class notes, lists, drawings, PDFs or updated documents from Office 365 apps.

The display also supports Wi-Fi Direct, which allows it to communicate with other devices without the need for the school Wi-Fi network to play middle man.

5. Safe and secure

Simple by design, the Samsung Interactive Display can be used by most students and teachers without any training, so they can get to work instantly. Simultaneously, the display’s underlying security ensures that confidential information stays in the right hands. A reinforced six-digit lock system allows educators to easily safeguard sensitive content, lock the display and remove critical content from view. The device can also be configured to regularly delete old files.

School IT teams can even control critical display settings from afar with Samsung’s Remote Management solution, with options including turning the display on and off, changing PINs, locking the network or USB port and adjusting proxy server settings. Head office staff can also remotely update the display’s firmware over the school’s wide area network (WAN), minimizing classroom disruptions and saving the time and cost associated with on-site updates and servicing.

6. Always-on administration

Not every teachable moment will be driven by a Samsung Interactive Display, but the device will still always be working and communicating. With a diverse set of predesigned templates, the screen doubles as classroom-centric digital signage, lighting up in screensaver mode. There are even prebuilt templates for commonly needed messaging like calendars, assignment reminders, birthday wishes and important health safety tips.

You can find the right classroom display for your students’ needs — and for your budget — by exploring Samsung’s full lineup of versatile interactive displays. And discover how your school can help give every student a voice with Samsung and Cisco in this free guide to creating inclusive hybrid classrooms.

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Dave Haynes

Dave Haynes is a well-known veteran in the digital signage industry. He consults to some of the world’s largest brands on their digital signage strategy and technical needs, but also spends time mentoring start-ups. A former daily newspaper journalist, Haynes has for the past decade written a highly-respected blog about digital signage, Sixteen:Nine. Follow Dave on twitter @sixteennine

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