What is a hard interactive whiteboard?

Sunday, October 11th, 2009 | IWBs

A “hard” interactive whiteboard is hard in the complete sense of the word. The writing surface of the board is hard, very similar to a dry-wipe whiteboard.

Hard boards make use of electromagnetic pickup technology. How does this work? The board has a fine grid of sensors imbedded in it just underneath the writing surface. A special stylus – or pen – which transmits electric impulses comes with the board. When you write with the stylus on the board the sensors on the board picks up the impulses from the pen and in this way recognizes what you are writing. Only the stylus that is supplied with the board – not your finger or any other pen – will work on a hard interactive whiteboard.

The fact that only the pen can activate the board is a big advantage. If you rest your palm on the writing surface while you are writing, or touch the board with your other hand, the board will ignore it. Some teachers feel that they need this extra support when writing on the board.

The disadvantage of hard boards is the dependence on the stylus – if you lose it, you can’t use the board. It is a challenge to hang onto writing tools – learners are tempted to take them home even thought they can’t do anything with them in the absence of an interactive whiteboard using electromagnetic pickup technology. You can buy a new stylus when you lose yours, but it must be calibrated to be able to talk to your board before it can be used.

Some teachers feel more comfortable using a hard board than a soft board – a board with a membrane covering the writing surface – since there is danger of puncturing the surface.

Click here for more information about interactive whiteboards.

Tags: IWBs

4 Comments to What is a hard interactive whiteboard?

Albie
Sunday, 11 October, 2009

I must agree with the concept of “resting” sometimes your hand (palm) and “hanging” onto the EIAWB with the other hand on the surface of the board. Certain EIAWB “respond” to this action and then activate a e.g.toolbar. Maybe the vendor / supplier of the present set of EIAWB @ Khanya schools should “design” a resting device – educators / learners hand + arm do get “tired” by just hanging in the air in front of the board.

Albie with a resting hand !

Mark C
Sunday, 11 October, 2009

I don’t think that the boards were necessarily designed to write long paragraphs on. Rather, these types of notes, if needed, should be typed. The short note does note require that a hand should rest on a board. Also when longer paragraphs are shown on the board the pens can be used to highlight, encircle, embolden, draw simple sketches or arrows and drag this around on the board. It does require a change of technique, but I will still stick with the membrane boards. I love my fingers-clean hands and reasonably short, rounded nails.
Also, things already went missing at schools and the hard boards would have been rendered useless for long periods while the school still has to find funds to buy the replacements.

Mark C
Sunday, 11 October, 2009

Sorry for the grammar. This was written on the fly.

Derek Wijtenburg
Friday, 16 October, 2009

There is a third type of IWB that has no board at all – the Parrot Products Interactive Whiteboard SYSTEM. This system has a device about the size of a cellphone that rest on top of the projector. The projector can be shone directly onto a wall or any stable surface. An infra red pen is used as with a traditional IWB. This system has its own benefits:

Being so small and compact it is easily transported and therefore shared amongst classrooms easily.

As there is no board required material costs to produce the system are much lower than traditional Interactive Whiteboards and it therefore about half the price.

As no board is required it can be used in many more environments than a traditional board.

You can find out more about it at http://www.parrotproducts.biz

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