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Size
The larger the board, the larger you will be able to display what is on your computer screen. Being able to see text and images clearly is essential for pupils to understand what you are displaying. Which is the whole point, right? In general, the bigger the better. Boards are measured across the diagonal, typically in inches.
Mobile or fixed?
A mobile board has the advantage that it can be shared but it can take ten minutes or more to set up a mobile board, more time re-aligning it (it is easily knocked out of alignment) and is more of a hazard because of trailing leads (which also absorb time trunking and taping them).
Underlining the point that for many schools the disadvantages of the mobile board outweighed the advantages is the fact that many of the schools that began with a mobile system moved onto a fixed whiteboard and projector setup. Interestingly, this resulted in a greater usage of the boards. So we recommend fixed boards.
Board types
Essentially, there are two types of technology being used in whiteboards: electromagnetic and resistive.
Electromagnetic Electomagnetic boards use electromagnetic technology and require a special pen. These boards are known as ?hard? boards, although Becta calls them Active whiteboards.
Resistive Resisistive boards are known as ?soft? boards, although Becta calls them Passive whiteboards. They use ?resistive technology?. When you press on the board with your finger or a pen, you close a gap between two sheets and this registers as a contact point and this is sent to the computer.
Add-on kits As well as the above, you can get an add-on kit which by fixing to a normal whiteboard, or any hard surface, gives you some of the advantages of an interactive whiteboard. They use special pens (or pen housings to hold standard marker pens). These kits are less expensive than a dedicated whiteboard, but not as robust. Some normal whiteboards can be purchased with this technology already attached.
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