As new generations of students become an increasingly significant portion of the pupils’ body, individuality, flexibility and use of technology in education turn into trends that you cannot afford to overlook. One teaching method that has gained traction, especially due to COVID-19, is remote learning.
What Defines High Quality Remote Learning?
Remote learning, also known as distance learning, is a method of teaching that does not require learners to be physically present in classes to view content and participate, thanks to the use of personal devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops.
The key to distance learning success is the ability to actively partake in classes by those attending remotely. That is especially vital for younger students, who often do not possess the discipline and motivation needed to focus on class content when not in an actual classroom. At home, there are so many more interesting things to do than listen to teachers! When remote classes don’t promote active participation and collaboration, they’re no different than attending a MOOC (massive online open class), and those don’t prove very successful among young learners, as reported by World Economic Forum.
This is where interactive whiteboard software like EZWrite from BenQ comes in. With interactive whiteboards, students can view and edit lectures’ content as well as annotate, collaborate and share images, while the class is ongoing. Classrooms equipped with interactive displays, such as BenQ ClassroomCare® boards, are especially well-equipped to make this happen.
But how to ensure your students see you, hear your voice and can respond, while collaborating with you and each other on the digital whiteboard? Here is how we recommend you go about engaging remote students with BenQ ClassroomCare® interactive displays.
What You Need
First up, you need a solid, stable internet connection. Please make sure that your BenQ board is connected to the network before you start your class.
You also need a PC, preferably a laptop with a built-in camera. It also needs an internet connection. If available, connect your computer to the same network as your interactive display. These are the basics necessary for remote classes that centre on interactive displays.
What Else is Useful?
Most new laptops have cameras with sufficient quality to handle your class needs. If you are using an older device with a lower resolution camera, no camera or simply a desktop PC, you may also need to get a dedicated, quality external camera. We suggest a wired camera for a more reliable experience compared to wireless models.
You may also want to test the sound quality of your laptop’s microphone and speakers, or the external microphone and speakers that you may be using. If the mic and speakers in your laptop leave you wanting, you’ll need to invest in dedicated external devices.
What You Need
1. Stable network connection
2. Laptop, preferably with built-in web camera
What Else is Useful?
3. High quality web camera
4. Good external microphone
Step by Step Guide to Remote Classes with Interactive Displays
The RM7503 series built-in microphone provides crystal-clear audio, ensuring that students learning remotely don’t miss out on any important information. This will also save time both for IT staff and teachers as they aren’t required to set up fiddly external microphones before the start of each lesson, allowing more time for productive learning.
In addition, teachers are able to record the audio of every lesson and save it directly to the board, meaning that absent students can easily catch up.
Teachers can also utilise the RM7503’s inbuilt mics to control presentations and annotate documents with voice control, allowing for more flexible and dynamic classroom presentations, wherever they are in the room.
The 4K display, complete with tempered glass and anti-glare coating, guarantees visibility whatever the light conditions and ensures that students learning remotely can see the screen clearly. Teachers have noted the improvement in image quality, with more utilising HD films and videos to bring curriculum content to life in the classroom.
Another feature teachers have been loving is the display’s integration with InstaShare software – BenQ’s exclusive wireless app solution that allows for content to be cast directly to the board from any laptop, tablet or mobile device. This has been particularly helpful for science and engineering teachers when demonstrating intricate procedures. Using InstaShare, teachers can use the app on their phones to provide an aerial view of the procedure. This view is then wirelessly streamed directly to the display, giving every single student the best view of the demonstration without the need to crowd around the teacher’s desk and ensuring that nobody misses out.
Step by Step Guide to Remote Classes with Interactive Displays
1. Launch EZWrite
Launch the EZWrite digital whiteboarding app pre-loaded on your display.
2. Tap "Invite" button
Click "Invite" to generate the link and QR code that will allow students to join.
3. Permission settings
Adjust permission settings to "Co-creation" if you want students to be able to edit and annotate, or leave at "Broadcast".
4. Adjust web camera
Point your camera at the BenQ board and yourself, leaving enough space to move around.
5. Start videoconference
Launch your preferred videoconferencing app on your computer, and start the meeting.
Make sure to share the link with your students!
How Do Students Join?
To attend the class, students need an internet connection and a personal device with a sizeable screen, like a notebook or tablet. Smartphones are not recommended.
Depending on the video conferencing app you use, students will either open the link in a browser or join in the corresponding app via the meeting code you’ll provide.
Also in the browser, in another tab, your students should open a link to the EZWrite web app (https://ezwrite.benq.com/#/) and type their name and room ID (which you will see when you click “Share” in EZWrite on your interactive display), then click “Join”.
If your students have access to a laptop and tablet, we recommend they use the tablet to access EZWrite, as it will be more comfortable for them to add content and annotate on the whiteboard. If so, they can use their laptop to connect to video conferencing, and a tablet to open EZWrite.
Ready to Engage Students Remotely!
Now you are ready to deliver your class to students everywhere. With the high precision touch employed on BenQ interactive displays, you can deliver classes in a familiar, whiteboard-like fashion. However, many additional features await.
A set of teaching aids like geometry tools, timer, score counter, split board, and a wide array of backgrounds help you deliver fun classes. You and your students can use a marker for handwriting, text input for “printed” wording, paste images on the whiteboard, or annotate with sticky notes.
You can record classes by clicking right from the interactive display. This generates a video file which can be later used to review classes. You can also save progress to continue work later, or pick up in another location or on a different platform (you can save files in .iwb, which can be opened in most interactive whiteboarding software suites).
To discover the many features we offer, or to learn more about BenQ interactive displays for education, read other articles in the series, or contact our experts via the form below to find out more or arrange a product demo!
ClassroomCare® Interactive Display
Learn more about germ-resistant interactive displays that enable modern, immersive and engaging learning-
also in blended teaching scenarios!
