School District Gains IT Efficiencies with Upgrade to ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays and myViewBoard Software

Aug 10, 2023

SOLUTION BRIEF

School District Gains IT Efficiencies with Upgrade to ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays and myViewBoard Software

When a new IT director joined this school district, she quickly recognized its classroom edtech needed an upgrade. Classrooms had a mix of aging projector-based whiteboards from different manufacturers which, in addition to being outdated, resulted in ongoing lamp replacement and maintenance costs. What’s more, the systems were cumbersome and required that a PC or other device be connected to the display.

After reviewing solutions from several well-known manufacturers, the IT director realized that a “TV solution” would be easier and less costly to maintain than a traditional projector-based whiteboard.

Not all roads lead directly to the ultimate solution, however. The teachers found the first solution she tried difficult to use; it also required an annual licensing fee. Dissatisfied, her team began demoing new options. Their reseller rep suggested that they look at ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® interactive flat panel (IFP) displays, which would deliver an all-in-one solution. The IT director ran a cost analysis, which revealed that the ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays would offer outstanding savings over other well-known education brands – an important factor given the number of classrooms that she needed to upgrade.

Her rep then showed her the device management software included with the ViewBoard displays. The efficiencies it would deliver for the IT team were incredible. By providing centralized management, the cloud-based myViewBoard Manager™ software would enable them to remotely enroll the displays, as well as update and manage them as needed. They could monitor performance through the dashboard, and schedule power on/off times to

The interactive displays increased collaboration and sharing, and students seem more engaged in the lessons. Teachers particularly like using the vCast capabilities, which enables their students to cast and display work onto the ViewBoard display.

safeguard power usage. No need to be physically present at the display. The convenience for one display alone would be helpful – for a fleet of several hundred, it would be invaluable.

The IT team was convinced that this was the best solution for the districts’ needs. But first, they needed to ensure that the displays would be wellreceived by the teaching staff. Their ViewSonic rep helped out by visiting the district and demonstrating the myViewBoard Whiteboard functionality to teachers and administrators, taking them through several mock lessons.

First, he showed them the ever-present floating toolbar that would be their home base. Next, he used the shape drawing tools to simulate a geometry lesson, then showed them the graph paper template. He then used the browser to navigate to the NASA website, take the audience on a brief virtual field trip, then pull up the accompanying worksheet and began filling it in using the pen tool – commenting that in a real classroom he would send the worksheet to the students’ Chromebooks using the included vCast™ software.

He briefly displayed the music score template, to applause from the music instructors. Finally, to end the day with an English lesson, he navigated to his Google Drive, opened a PDF of pages from a popular children’s book, activated the record function, then used the whiteboarding tools to highlight and label parts of speech. He then saved the recorded lesson to the students’ Drives – providing a study reference and a lesson recap for students who were absent that day.

The teachers were fully onboard and the IT director began replacing the aging equipment as quickly as funds allowed. The district now has 150 classrooms equipped with 55- and 75-inch ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays, along with one 86” ViewSonic ViewBoard display in the district boardroom.

During the remote learning days of the pandemic, the IT team worked with the assistant director of instructional technology to train teachers on how to use the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays and myViewBoard software to facilitate hybrid learning. It was a perfect solution, the IT director said: the kids at home could see whatever the teacher put on the display along with their in-school classmates – and they had the ability to interact with it along with them.

Right from the start, the teachers loved using the new ViewSonic ViewBoard displays, and the love kept growing as the IT team facilitated more training. Back in the classrooms full-time, students were likewise big fans, said the IT director. Teachers told her that the interactive displays increased collaborationand sharing, and students seem more engaged in the lessons. Teachers particularly like using the vCast capabilities, which enables their students to cast and display work onto the ViewBoard display. This, she said, opened up classroom participation, even when students were tied to their desks due to covid. With their older systems, she said, they wouldn’t have been able to do this, and collaboration would have su ered.

The 86” ViewBoard display has been equally useful for bringing the community and school board together for hybrid meetings, which have continued long past the pandemic, she said. In-person school board members have a clear view of parents and community members who log in via Zoom, and it enables more natural communication and better visibility than when each member was looking down at their individual laptop.

As soon as funding is available, the IT director plans to standardize on ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays to upgrade every classroom in the district. She has a wait list of requests from building principals. She further hopes to invest in ViewSonic interactive displays to build out the district Girls Who Code program, noting that they could do so much more with the power of interactivity. Finally, she envisions implementing ViewSonic displays at school entryways and throughout the buildings to deliver welcome messages and informational updates.