Is it me?

[Lee Haynes]

Is it just me?

I am getting fed up now of projectors (and whiteboards) in school:

Bulbs are always 'going' - we are spending a fortune on them - at £150 a time it seems crazy.
From the day you put a bulb in, it begins to fade.
I constantly have to work with all lights out and blinds shut to have any chance of seeing the board at all.
I understand all the arguments for interactivity, but seriously - does anyone use these feautures all of the time - they take too long to set up, find equipment, replace batteries, etc. And since upgrading to ActivInspire (which btw is miles better than ActivPrimary ever was) I can't use my Activotes.
The boards are too high, children can't actually reach more than the bottom half easily.
Light glares in your face every time you stand in front of the class.
We are on our second set of projectors in school anyway, as the first lot all started to get patches on them. I was told the lenses needed cleaning and that it was cheaper to buy new projectors than get that done. But, of course, nothing is simple so this involves a new ceiling mount because each projector has a different throw distance.

Is there an answer to this?

I would prefer a 50 inch plasma/lcd tv on the wall. It wouldn't fade, I could connect my PC to it easily and there are no bulbs etc to replace. With tablet PCs and wireless connectivity, it would be possible to maintain some interactivity (or - dare I say it, the children could use a mouse!!! - even a wireless one bought for about £20-£30!).

Sorry for the rant, it's been a long week!! I know this may not be the right forum for this too - it is more a projector problem than the boards, but without one, the other is useless.

[LisaD]

Promethean does sell an integrated wall-mounted system called an Activboard+2. The "2" means the projector AND wall mounting kit.

The advantages of this is that the projector is not ceiling mounted at all and is short throw so there is much limited shadow or light.

Some of the systems can be raised and lowered, I think so that younger children can reach. The projector raises and lowers with the board itself.

The Activwand can also help students who cannot reach the top of the board.

Here is a link to information about the Activboard + 2.
http://www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.16005

Here is a link to information about the Actiwand.
http://www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.16002

Lisa

[jcheek]

Lisa, I hear this ALL the time and your reply, unfortunately, is no answer to the problem!!!! Schools cannot afford to buy more equipment, or even bulbs.....just look at the budget cuts for the K-12 environment for our state! I have a teacher friend whose projector bulb went bad last week and she is having to wait three or four months to get a replacement, and she is not sure she will get it then.

Yeah, I am disgusted with the budget cuts for our Georgia educators for technology - no, not just technology, but for education in general.....so forgive the negative comment above.

Thanks for allowing me to RANT!!!!!!! I "heart" you, Lisa !http://www.prometheanplanet.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

Best, Jerrie

[LisaD]

Oh, I do agree Jerrie.

It's sad that bulbs are so expensive to replace and the duration for many of theme is so short. I guess it could be argued that the "cost" of any projector needs to include the lifetime replacement cost built in or at least budgeted for. Just like on-going professional development should be part of the cost of technology and budgeted for long-term. (I think you're with me on that one!) If not, then bad things happen (as in the classroom above) and the "investment" in technology can have a poor, low-level (or short) or short use. (Not to mention frustrating.)

I've seen this happen time and time again in purchases of all types of technology. Only the initial cost of the hardware or software were calculated and budgeted for. Maintanance, updates and professional development were not. And that usually ends up in dust-covered equipment.

My response was not intended to address the short bulb life but to only point out that the other issues with ceiling mounted projectors (light in the eyes) and not being able to reach have been heard of before and I think that is why Promethean came up with alternative solutions.

But neither of these will help this teacher with her existing problem of not having a functional projector.

Lisa

[Westlake]

For future reference, and I know this may be seen to add ANOTHER task to a busy teacher's workload :(..
Regularly cleaning projector filters can extend the bulb life considerably - if it is worth it to you to have a good image and reduced 'down time' then the time spent may be a good investment :)
From personal experience: it isn't enough to have tech support set up a maintenance schedule to clean the school's filters on a regular cycle - it won't get done :(:(

Hilary

[jcheek]

Hiliary,

I agree with your statement regarding tech support to clean the filters on a regular schedule. It "ain't" gonna happen ordinarily......You are correct about the cleaning extending the bulb life.......It's hard to remember. For some reason since I started using Windows 7, I frequently get a message reminding me to clean the filter. Don't know if that's a Windows 7 "thingy" or whether my filter needs a good cleaning in my lab.........Jerrie