Interactive Whiteboard Statistics
Interactive whiteboards are steadily growing in popularity for the past ten years. Interactive whiteboards offer educators a fully integrated board that allows a variety of features, and while they have taken a few years of undergoing a public research and testing phase, they are becoming an extremely useful tool for many teachers and professors. The numbers don’t lie, and an annual survey carried out by The British Educational Suppliers Association reported that in 2004 26% of primary schools in the United Kingdom had an interactive whiteboard of some kind. This number was up 5% from 2003. Furthermore, 73% of primary schools have at least one whiteboard in the school.
Not only have they seen rapid growth over the pond, but one U.S. company reported that 557,000 interactive whiteboards were shipped in 2008, which was a huge 32% increase from 2007. Now there are over two million interactive whiteboards installed worldwide and whiteboard companies foresee the one out of every five classrooms will have an interactive whiteboard by the end of 2013.
Since interactive whiteboards are obviously here to stay there are two important factors in choosing which one is best for your curriculum. As with any technology, the interactive whiteboard is constantly evolving and becoming better. The marketplace for interactive whiteboards has become extremely competitive in the past few years, which gives schools and colleges great options and even a bit of bargaining power, based on how large their order is.
One of the most important things to look for in an interactive whiteboard is a quality product. While whiteboards have been out for over a decade now, it doesn’t mean their prices have dropped or that you can find a high-quality board for a steal. Being a cheap or faulty interactive whiteboard can create problems, since many teachers will avoid using certain technologies if they aren’t consistently working.
This is why quality is one of the biggest factors in how long your board will last. Some glass whiteboards will have upgradable software and tools, so investing in a good board can definitely pay off in the long-run. One of the best boards you can get now is a glass dry erase interactive board, since the glass not only gives a sleek and modern look, but never has problems with ghosting and streaking. Glass lasts for many years and won’t need to be replaced like an ordinary whiteboard.
About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.
