Channel eases users' IWB safety concerns
Manufacturers and installers promote safe use of interactive whiteboards in schools
The channel has hit back at claims that projectors used with interactive whiteboards (IWBs) could damage users’ eyesight.
The concerns centre around a lack of guidance to teachers from manufacturers and installers to not stare directly at the projector beam.
Sam Livermore, owner of reseller Selectasize, who has raised the issue, said: “I’ve flagged it up to every education secretary since 2001 when IWBs were first introduced, but none of them have done anything about it. I’d like to see a notice alongside every board with the basic health and safety guidelines on it.”
Nancy Knowlton, co-chief executive of vendor Smart, said: “Teachers often are not present when an IWB is installed so it is perhaps the responsibility of the school or the local authority to print out notices and put them adjacent to the boards.”
Paul Berry, director of UK business at vendor Promethean, added: “It’s a bit like saying the government should issue a warning to tell people not to stare at the sun. However, if a customer has a concern I’d advise VARs to take it seriously; point out the laminated notices that Promethean supplies with all its boards; and if they are still concerned, talk to them about the benefits of a short-throw projector.”
The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency’s (Becta) guidelines state: no one should stare directly into the beam of a projector; when entering the beam, users should not look towards the audience for more than a few seconds; users should keep their backs to the projector beam when standing in it; and a maximum brightness of 1,500 lumens is adequate for a classroom.
Colin Messenger, senior consultant at Decision Tree Consulting, added: “We have heard very little from teachers on this matter. IWBs are in their 7th year and are in 50 per cent of all UK classrooms.”