When you’re kitting out a school, there’s no shortage of technology vying for a share of your budget. From heavy duty headphones to interactive smart boards, there are countless ways for you to invest your AV fund.
However, there are some technologies which are more established than others. The modern classroom is rarely without a projector and smart board, for example, whilst you’d also expect to see speakers and lecterns.
There’s some technology that, whilst relatively obscure at present, are poised to make a huge impact on the educational scene in the months and years to come. Chief amongst those technologies are visualisers – an innovative, hugely effective teaching tool that’s changing the way teachers go about their job.
But what are visualisers and why do you need them? Let us explain.
What are Visualisers?
You’d be forgiven for not knowing what a visualiser is from the name alone, but visualisers aren’t quite as confusing as their name would imply.
Quite simply, visualisers are the modern evolution of overhead projectors from days gone by. However, rather than projecting black and white images printed on plastic paper, visualisers feature a compact camera lens on an adjustable base.
When connected to a projector or screen, visualisers are capable of displaying a live feed of what they’re looking at. That allows teachers to show close up details, share documents with the class and so much more.
What Value do Visualisers Bring?
When buying for any educational establishment, it’s key to ascertain whether the AV equipment you’re purchasing is bringing sufficient value to the learning experience.
So, what added value do visualisers bring?
Well, the primary value of visualisers is that they open up demonstrations to the entirety of the class.
As any teacher knows, getting kids to crowd around a small table to see something being done is a recipe for misbehaviour and poor learning. Some kids will see, others won’t and the distraction created when you get kids to stand up and move across the room is often more trouble than it’s worth.
With a visualiser, kids can stay seated whilst the teacher displays in perfect clarity what they’re doing. Used in conjunction with your projector, you can show the tiniest details of an object or experiment to the entire class, zooming in close on an important detail.
The fact that a visualiser can stand on its own ensures that teachers are able to share things which otherwise might not be possible to show a class.
Take an art class, for example. The techniques required to effectively create certain styles are often taught on a one-to-one basis because students need a close-up view to understand what the teacher is doing. With a visualiser, a teacher can place their paper, hand and tool under the camera arm and show the entire class at once exactly how to create the effect.
Of course, these are just a handful of the use cases which make visualisers utterly invaluable to schools. To learn more about why visualisers could be right for your school, get in touch today.
