Hardware

The Future of Modular Panels in the Modern Classroom

Promethean’s ActivPanel LX gives schools the opportunity to choose their operating system, extending the life of the panel and reducing the need for training.

Alexandra Frost

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Alexandra Frost is a Cincinnati-based freelance journalist, content marketing writer, copywriter and editor published in The Washington Post, Glamour, Shape, Today’s Parent, Reader’s Digest, Parents, Women’s Health and Insider. Alex has a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/journalism, both from Miami University near Cincinnati. She also taught high school for 10 years, specializing in media education.

In an all-too-common scenario for K–12 teachers and tech teams, users are inundated with different apps, platforms, devices and panels to set up for the first week back to school — instantly overwhelming everyone.

This is one issue Promethean is working to solve with its ActivPanel LX. “This is a very focused interactive flat panel where customers have the choice of the operating system and applications they want to use,” says Robert Cross, Promethean’s director of product management. By choosing an operating system with which educators and IT teams are familiar, districts can reduce the confusion new technology brings at the onset of the school year.

“We are leading the way in the majority of these markets to make a move like this. It takes conviction to go out and say we have something different from what we’ve been selling, even a little bit disruptive,” Cross says. But the company is following its research data, which indicates that this type of panel gives districts more value and flexibility.

EXPLORE: Promethean provides interactive technology solutions for modern classrooms.

The Freedom to Choose Your Operating System

“In the past several years, the interactive panel space for education has leaned heavily on panels that are also computing devices, running Android-based operating systems,” Cross says. But in many districts, staff and student devices don’t run on Android.

“There are limitations that have been exposed in the past few years,” he continues. “The pandemic ushered in more requirements for higher-powered software and cloud-based tools.”

To record lessons to share with asynchronous learners or students’ parents, teachers don’t always use applications on Android. “They’re using applications available on Windows or Chrome and not using the Android-based tools on their panel, which is a big investment,” Cross says. So Promethean improved usability for teachers by offering a panel that provides high-quality video and an interactive experience while allowing schools — not the panel — to determine which operating system to use.

Teaching teachers how to turn it on is the extent of the training.”

Robert Cross Director of Product Management, Promethean

This allows Promethean to offer products compatible with schools’ current operating system, instead of “bringing an Android operating system to them and asking them to assimilate,” says Cross.

Device Longevity in an Era of Waning Funds

Sometimes, displays with a five- to eight-year lifespan are affixed to devices with two to three years of life, reducing the effectiveness of schools’ investments.

Customer surveys revealed the need for a sustainable solution leading into modern panel use, Cross shares. He calls the ActivPanel LX the solution districts are looking for as funding decreases.

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“You can expect five to eight years out of this panel, and it’s not tied to a computing device, allowing those to be switched out easily and cost-effectively,” Cross says. “When it’s integrated into your panel, changing that is very expensive and disruptive.”

Promethean also provides customers support for the life of the products, helping to prolong the useful life of the panels. “They can expect to get many years of viability out of it, knowing it’s not tied to a quickly atrophying operating system,” Cross says.

Benefits for Teachers, Students and IT Departments

Cross shares the story of a teacher he spoke with who was “inundated” with new technologies to learn. She said that, even as someone who was very capable, the start of the year was daunting. The teacher added that she had to learn programs for her own three kids’ classes, in addition to four or more systems and applications for her own school, adding up to dozens of new interfaces to take in at the beginning of each school year.

When Cross explained the function of the ActivPanel LX, she was visibly relieved. “That would be a big unlock, cutting out some of the training,” she told him.

And it isn’t just teachers. Many K–12 IT teams aren’t prepared to manage and secure an Android-based all-in-one panel, Cross says. “With the ActivPanel LX, there are no security threats, so that does not contribute to their ongoing management efforts or costs.”

DIVE DEEPER: Improve safety and security in K–12 classroom environments.

Nor do IT departments have to lead any training on the panel. “Teaching teachers how to turn it on is the extent of the training,” Cross adds. In fact, his own 8-year-old daughter loves using his panel when she visits his office and was elated to learn she could lead the “training session” for some new HR leaders who stopped by.

From young students through higher education and corporate environments, Cross expects this style of panel will usher in the future of interactive experiences.

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