4 seriously clever ideas for interactive screens in schools

There are all sorts of things you can do with interactive screens in schools – some you might never even have thought of!

These magic devices go way beyond jotting your ideas down for the class to see. Interactive screens give you access to a host of different types of presentation software, games and other types of techno-wizardry.

Today, we’ll introduce you to four of our absolute faves, and give you some tips to get started.

Super-smart uses for interactive screens in schools

These are just some of the lesser-known but darn clever ways you could be using interactive screens in schools:

1) Presentations… of a different kind

Dusty old monotone PowerPoints are a thing of the past.

Prezi is one of the most effective ways you can up your presentation game, and get kids more engaged during lessons – and the science backs this up, too.

Instead of scrolling from slide to slide, you create one huge picture packed full of fun features. Then, you can zoom in on certain elements and explain related topics in more detail.

Imagine starting with a map of ancient Rome or the Milky Way, then taking your little folks on a journey through these colourful worlds.

2) Real-time voting

Asking for ‘hands up’ is all well and good, but there are smarter ways you can get answers to your questions.

Poll Everywhere is a great option that’s already loved by businesses, and is moving into the educational world.

You ask a question, and your class selects a multiple-choice answer, or types their answers on their digital devices. You can then display the results instantly as a bar chart or word cloud.

You can even add an interactive quiz to a PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides presentation, then use a leader board to show who’s getting the most answers correct.

This isn’t just about fun, though. You can use this data to identify gaps in understanding, or students who may need a little extra support in certain areas.

3) Interactive displays

Think of schools, and bold displays made lovingly from sugar and crepe paper spring to mind. While these are informative and help brighten up classrooms, they can take a lot of time to make.

With interactive screens, you can quickly put together a series of HD displays using drag-and-drop software. To make these, you can use a combination of online resources, students’ work and your own creativity.

Then, simply upload these to your interactive screens as a background image/wallpaper, or use signage software to show displays on loop when you aren’t using the board for teaching.

4) Virtual school trips

Kids love school trips. But they require time and money, and some locations (like the centre of a volcano or bottom of the Great Barrier Reef) just can’t be visited.

Hosting virtual school trips using interactive screens in schools is a great way to top up your ‘actual’ adventures. You can:

• Use Google Street View/Google Earth and more to visit almost anywhere on the planet, or Google Mars to go beyond…
• Experiment with Skype or other free video-calling software to check-in with experts, museum curators or classes based in other countries
• Play immersive, free educational videos using YouTube or other free video software

There’s so much you can do with interactive screens in schools! Get stuck into these lesson ideas and a whole lot more by introducing them to your classrooms.

Get set up with interactive screens in your school by calling on the friendly Utility Rentals team!