When it comes to teaching tools and devices, districts have more good options at the front of the classroom than they did even a few years ago. For displays, a flat panel can seem like an easy first choice — especially because they’re so familiar. But the easiest choice and the best long-term one aren’t always the same, and it’s worth knowing what else is on the table before the purchase order goes out.
A new animated guide, How K-12 Classrooms are Rethinking Projection, walks through what today’s laser projection can do — and it’s nothing like the equipment many administrators might picture from their own school days. They’re now brighter, lighter, interactive, and built to last through several budget cycles. Given that around 75% of the information our brains process is visual,¹ how content shows up on the wall is worth a closer look.
What the guide covers, in about five minutes:
- Size. A 75-inch panel makes a fine television, but may still be too small to see from the back row of a classroom. Ultra short-throw projection reaches up to 160 inches, opening up viewing to everyone.
- Flexibility. Flat panels can top 100 pounds,² making them difficult to take down off the wall and move. Laser projectors run 15 to 30 pounds.³
- Wall space. Whiteboards are valuable real estate. Projection turns a dry-erase board or any flat surface into an interactive display, then gives it back when the projector is off.
- Fewer interruptions. Lamp-free laser light sources are rated up to 30,000 hours with instant on/off.⁴ No more changing bulbs means much less down time.
Check out the guide, How K-12 Classrooms are Rethinking Projection to see how districts are finding new ways to display. Pflugerville ISD standardized across all 33 campuses. Tuscaloosa City Schools piloted flat panels head-to-head, chose BrightLink, and installed roughly 800. Bridgeport-Spaulding rolled out four buildings in a single Labor Day weekend.
As Livonia Public Schools’ Timothy Klan puts it: “You just turn it on and it works.”
More on classroom display solutions at Epson.com/Education.
¹ “The Role of Visual Learning in Improving Students High-Order Thinking Skills,” The Journal of Education and Practice, Vol. 7 No. 24, 2016. ² Compared to top-selling 75″ 4K interactive flat panels. ³ Compared to Epson projectors under 7,000 lumens. ⁴ No required maintenance for the light source for up to 30,000 hours in eco mode. Approximate time until brightness decreases 50% from first usage. Time varies depending on usage conditions and environment.
