wall mounting of ActivBoard

[cappie]

Sorry if this is not the correct place to post, but I need some help and nowhere else seemed appropriate.

I have been using the ActivBoard for two years now, moving it into and out of position, as needed, on the stand. Because of the configuration of my room, the ActivBoard must be used in front of my white board. The other teachers in the classroom only use the whiteboard (actually, I'm the only teacher using an Activboard in the entire school). Plus, ometimes I need to use the whiteboard. This is very awkward. :(

I would like to mount the ActivBoard in front of the white board on some sort of rail system which would allow it to be moved horizontally out of the way of the whiteboard. There is not enough space to move it vertically out of the way. Does anyone have such a system for their ActivBoard? If so, can you describe it, or provide the name of a person who could give details?

Thanks, everyone! :)

[Westlake]

I would like to mount the Activboard in front of the white board on some sort of rail system which would allow it to be moved horizontally out of the way of the whiteboard.
I wonder if it would be easier to mount the Activboard permanently on the wall, and have the 'ordinary' whiteboard mounted over it on a hinge so you could swing it away when you want to use the Activboard?
Not quite what you had in mind but might solve the problem.
Hilary

[cappie]

The maintenance staff tells me the whiteboard is fastened to the wall with a super-strong glue, which will result in it breaking if removed.

[jepatton]

This may not be practical, but is there another wall in the room where you could mount the board? That would also involve moving the projector, I know, but it might solve the problem. I have a large whiteboard in the back of my room, which I also use on occasion. The kids are pretty flexible about moving their seats around to see what's going on at any given time.

Just a thought.

[cappie]

Unfortunately, my wall space is quite limited. I teach chemistry in a lab; one wall is all windows; two are all cabinets and a fume hood; and the remaining wall, besides the whiteboard, has the room door, gas cabinet, and a large periodic table. (I attended a workshop this summer in a very nice new facility in which each room had both a whiteboard on one wall and [another brand of IWB] on a second wall, each with its own projector. How nice that would be!) Thanks for the suggestion, anyway, June! :)

[gibsonjr]

If you call Logical Choice who supplies these boards to several school system, they might can tell you the proper way to have it mounted safely.:)

[brianksee]

I recently removed a pro board to another location and was thinking. Basically there are two clips on the bottom and two clips in the center. If you don't mind reconfiguring and taking the board down, as well as having two clips in the center of you board, I see it as prossible, but I also am of the opinion that you shouldn't move the board that much...a stable home would be better.

As far as the slides, it would be possible, but a quite an ordeal, requiring tracks, bearings, and mountings.

[DBarnwell]

It may also be possible to get a rolling stand... Again, not as good as a stationary mount, but you could wheel the stand away from the front when necessary and then wheel it back into place.

[cappie]

Hi Daniel,

I have the rolling stand. The problem is that when in use it is positioned between my demo table and my regular whiteboard at the front of the room, which makes things very crowded and awkward. A second problem is simply that wheeling it into and out of position from period to period when needed or not needed is disruptive.

I am told that the situation is "being looked into" at school. We'll see!

Thanks for your suggestion, anyway.

[Westlake]

I would like to mount the Activboard in front of the white board on some sort of rail system which would allow it to be moved horizontally out of the way of the whiteboard. There is not enough space to move it vertically out of the way.
Good luck with this project - I still think that having the 'ordinary' board able to move (hinge, rails OR lift off...) is better than trying to overcome the challenges of making the Activboard move.
In time, this will be the preferred surface in the room anyway so your school would be futureproofing that room - and leading the way in implementing technology!
Hilary :)

[tcooper185]

We've just installed the ACTIVboard on top of the "ordinary" whiteboard, and found that teachers are using the remaining portion of the whiteboard to write more static things like homework, lesson objectives, etc, and use the ACTIVboard for class activities and lessons.
Don't forget to save the flipchart pages when you're finished, and you always have what you wrote on the board. No worries about the custodian cleaning off the board and you losing all of your work!
Certainly mounting the ACTIVboard on top of a valuable resource like the whiteboard isn't the best alternative, but in existing classrooms/buildings that are already oriented with the whiteboard at the front of the room, it is really the only alternative we found. Placement of the two boards (whiteboard and ACTIVboard) is something we're considering in new classroom design.
Tim

[davidlloyd]

When I worked for an education authority in the UK and began putting Activboards in schools, we removed the old white board (and occasionally a blackboard!) and put a small white board alongside the IWB.

We found that in the few rooms where the dry whiteboard was left, teachers were slow in making the transition to the IWB.

[saha]

Here is how it is installed in my classroom currently.

The building custodian did not want to drill into the existing whiteboard.
So the activboard was placed on the ledge below the existing whiteboard and then secured with two metallic clamps.
See attached picture.

[LisaD]

I've seen that, too, in other classrooms. Just be sure that the "ledge" can support the weight of the Activboard. It might be advisable to put an extra support under the ledge.

Just my two cents.

Lisa

[cappie]

Thank you, everyone. I like your clip-style attachment, Saha. If I were in a position to mount the board in a permanent position, that would be the way to go. Now, if somehow that could be combined with some sort of rail and rollers system......we'll see.

Again, there are only two Activboards in the school. I use mine (often with the ActiVotes) daily; this is my third year. Another teacher is just beginning this year to use the second board. The school is not in any way committed to this type of technology at this point in time; I am just really fortunate the school allowed me to purchase my board and votes. Although the administration and my supervisors have been generally very supportive of my use of the board, the school is obviously not worried in the least about how fast or effectively teachers learn this technology, at least not now.

I share the room with another teacher, who can change year-to-year. The teacher in the room with me prefers the regular whiteboard; she is just becoming comfortable with computers and is not interested in learning another aspect of the technology. This means I can not have the board in a permanent position covering up a major and central portion of the regular whiteboard which she uses.

The regular whiteboard can not be removed from its current spot on the wall without destroying it (it is glued in position). It is actually a chalkboard which has been resurfaced as a whiteboard, It is very long, and it has two sliding panels; it is very heavy. Altogether, having it swing away from the wall is not possible.

When I am back in school on Monday, I'll try to remember to post a picture of the arrangement (wish I'd thought of that before!).

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and for trying to help me figure out this puzzler! :)

[saha]

Hi Carol,

Unless your school has a good machine shop and people willing to custom make a roller mechanism for you, I think you should contact your Promethean reseller and ask them about purchasing the frame that goes with Active +2 board.

Essentially what you would do is slide/install your existing activboard into the frame. This frame comes with the rolling/ball bearing hinge mechanism that you are talking about.

Dont quote me on this...but you may have the option of just buying the frame with/without the short-throw "sanyo " LCD projector.
The activ+2 system with the short-throw sanyo projector is a much better way to go. You dont have to worry about getting on a ladder to change the projector bulb and associated wiring. Also you virtually eliminate the shadow when you are writing on the board. It is easy on the eyes for students. Not to mention you can adjust the height of the board effortlessly without re-calibration.

[cappie]

Thank you for your suggestions, Saha. I thought perhaps this would be a solution, but my Promethean reseller, Logical Choice Technologies, tells me that to use the short-throw projector, the board can not be on the portable stand because of its weight, so I'm right back to mounting it on the wall, which can not be done for the reasons mentioned above.

My supervisor is looking into the possibility of a second ceiling-mounted projector, or moving the one we have to a corner of the room where the board on the stand would be positioned sort of semi-permanently. Not an ideal situation, but better than the current one.

[saha]

Hi Carol,
I am kind of in the same situation as you.
During my planning period, another teacher who uses the regular whiteboard uses my room.
Like your classroom, my classroom has a very long whiteboard.
Even though the activboard covers the center of the conventional whiteboard, it only covers less than 20% of the conventional whiteboard.

The extra space left over is more than enough space for a teacher who prefers to only use the conventional whiteboard.

Logical Choice sells an adaptor called the "over the board" anchor. This helps to install the AB+2 system on the wall without drilling or destroying the conventional whiteboard.

Hope you find the resolution to your problem soon.
An AB+2 system was installed in my classroom recently. It is remarkably. The display from the short throw Sanyo projector is crystal clear. No need to turn down the classroom lights anymore.

[cappie]

Hi Gautam,

Would you be able to post a picture of the AB+2 system in your room? Thanks!

[saha]

Sure, I will post the picture tomorrow.

The engineer installer from Logical Choice tells me that they are installing literally thousands of AB+2 systems in Virginia, Florida and New York school systems.

[saha]

I came upon a tech article with this picture.
This seems to be the new generation of short throw projector that sanyo will release in Japan this year.

I wonder if Promethean will incorporate this short throw projector in future Activboards.
Seems very elegant.

[cappie]

Thanks so much!

[Paul Schofield]

I came upon a tech article with this picture.
This seems to be the new generation of short throw projector that sanyo will release in Japan this year.

I wonder if Promethean will incorporate this short throw projector in future Activboards.
Seems very elegant.

Hi Saha,

Promethean constantly research new technologies and products whilst listening to our customers requirements, our aim is always to offer the best possible solution in terms of performance and cost. We are confident at this time that our current system configurations offer just that :cool:

best regards

Paul+wave+

[saha]

Hi Gautam,

Would you be able to post a picture of the AB+2 system in your room? Thanks!

Carol,
Here is the picture.

[cappie]

Thank you! I got a quote from Logical Choice Technologies and sent it along with these pictures to my Director; she seems very receptive. (She joked it looks like my room and since it's already done, we don't have to worry about it.) It's not very expensive either. So, hopefully, either during a break or next summer it'll finally be mounted.

[davidlloyd]

Congratulations Carol. You will have to post a pic of the finished work!

[cappie]

Hi Gautam,

It appears that the top of your ActivBoard is somewhat higher than the top of the regular whiteboard, with the bottom edge of the wall-mounting brackets directly on top of the top of the whiteboard. How much higher is it? Can the ActivBoard's position be adjusted downwards? If so, how easy is it to adjust the height, and how far down can it be lowered? Because of a fire detector on the wall, this will affect the exact location of our board, and thus the repositioning of our ceiling-mounted projector. Thanks again.

[saha]

hi carol,
yes absolutely!
In the AB+2 system, the board sits on a frame. The board can be moved vertically up and down.

In the picture that you saw, my board is is indeed sitting higher than the top edge of the white chalkboard.

I can move it down if I want it ...it is as easy is pulling it down.

Since the projector moves with the board, no recalibration is needed.

Good luck!

[bpeskin]

Since you want to give the technology a go -- and you will help with that learning curve you mention to make more technology possible ..... maybe they could do something with the rooms so that either you can move to a room where dual boards are possible and/or have you not share a room with this particular person that changes each year. (I also think if you can only have one board showing at time and you must have two boards it makes so much sense to get a portable old fashioned white board and wall mount the activboard. In our school we did mount the activboards over existing white boards with plenty of whiteboard space still available and so teachers had both -- but the activboards have taken over in popularity!)

[saha]

Hi Carol,
Logical Choice does a terrific job installing these AB+2 systems.

It takes about 4-5 hours on the average for the install.
So you dont have to wait for an extended break to install this. Hopefully your parts have been ordered.

Also I use a lot video and audio integrated in my flipcharts. A good sound systems is an essential part of the Activboard.
Logical Choice integrates a "AudioGear" system with AB+2. It is quite affordable. Since you are doing a new AB+2 install, you may as well see if you can get this bundled with your order.

I am attaching a picture of AudioGear for you.

and yes please post a picture of your classroom once the install is complete.

[cappie]

Hi Gautam,

Once again, thank you for all your wonderful help. At this point, I'll just be getting the frame and not the new board or the projector. I'll be using my current board and the ceiling-mounted projector. I know the short-throw projector which is part of the AB+2 system is much more desirable, but that won't happen for a while, if ever. What I will have to wait on in my situation is the repositioning of the currently-installed ceiling-mounted projector (only about four feet difference, but they will need to install a second mounting plate). As our technology director told me yesterday, right now they're just trying to get things to work (as in much of the rest of the building), not just work better (as in my room)! But he is sympathetic, and it will happen.

[cappie]

Gautam, do you know whether the AudioGear system will work with the pre-AB+2 boards?

[cappie]

Thanks for your suggestions, bpeskin. I am a chemistry teacher and we have only two chemistry rooms in our building, both with the same layout. I know the school will not consider ripping down a perfectly good wall-mounted whiteboard and replacing it with a portable one; it's even more unlikely if one considers that it is a former chalkboard which they had resurfaced this summer as a whiteboard!

[seabass]

Hey Cappie, I once saw a setup where someone had their interactive whiteboard on a sliding track, they just slid it into and out of position as they needed it. I cant for the life of me remember which website I was looking at when I saw it though, but I'll try and find it as this could be a perfect solution for you.

[cappie]

Hi Seabass, That is exactly what I need! It would be great if you could find it.

[seabass]

I found it! Its a company called KOH design

http://www.kohdesign.com/

Go to gallery 1 to see some pics, they aren't using a promethean board but I don't see why they cant, I dont think the make of the board matters.

[cappie]

Excellent! Thank you!!

[saha]

Yes the audiogear works with any activboard.
Does not have to be AB+2 board.

In fact my board is a Pre-AB+2 board.
All that was done was to take the current activboard and slide it in the AB+2 frame.
In your case since you are not getting the short throw projector, all that needs to happen is mount your board in the AB+2 frame without the short throw projector attachment.
The audiogear speakers are attached to the back of the frame. The audiogear box is installed anywhere convinient to you and close to your computer/laptop.

I saw the KOH design pics that Seabass posted.
I am not sure if that would be strong enough to hold an activboard. Also an activboard is heavier and larger than a smart board.
Also dont forget there is a lot of wiring associated with the board. So there is limitation to how much you can slide the board anyways.

[LisaD]

I would be afraid that the sliding back could pinch or eventually fray the cables. Now if you have wireless, that's great there, but you still need power.

Long time ago, I had an entire lab of mice go down after a few months. I found that the students were flipping the mice over to show their lab instructor that the "mouse ball" was still there. Then the next group of kids would flip it again (in the same direction). Eventually the wires just twisted apart.

Just my two cents.

Lisa

[tai_ann2003]

I found it! Its a company called KOH design

http://www.kohdesign.com/

Go to gallery 1 to see some pics, they aren't using a Promethean board but I don't see why they cant, I dont think the make of the board matters.

I took a look at the pictures... and it looks like the sliding bar locks in their board/presentation screen INTO their bar. The ActivBoard would need an adaption to lock in to their sliding bar... plus, our board might weigh significantly more than their board intended to go onto the bar. I couldn't tell, but the sliding frame looked plastic - it could be metal though. My other concern would be that it would sway a little forward and backward when being touched because their bar only has ONE location (along the top) to lock in and not on the bottom as well. It might work, but the A+2 sliding bar would be better then this solution, in my opinion... but the A+2 brackets also cover up a good chunk of the white board. I will attach my pictures of the bracket... no, I can't. I have the hardest time using the attaching paperclip tool on this website... it works for me like 1/10 times. I will have to e-mail it to you in a private message. Sorry I can't post it for all!!

[cappie]

Thanks, everyone. I had some concerns about the suitability of the KOH design also, so I've sent them a message and when they contact me I hope to get answers to some of the questions you've raised.

[seabass]

By the look of it though, these guys have just made their own system for the smartboard. I'm sure they could make a separate system for an activ board that would accomplish the same thing, they look pretty innovative!

[cappie]

[clap] So the board was FINALLY wall-mounted over the summer and it is SO nice not to be constantly tripping over the stand behind my demo table. {} The projector was moved from a location central to the regular whiteboard to the end where the Activboard was installed. The Activboard is now used almost every period, daily. Thanks for everyone's input, +wave+ and here are the pictures!

[LisaD]

Cool! I see you are a science teacher? I see a periodic table on your wall!

Lisa

[davidlloyd]

Success![clap][clap] May you have many happy hours of teaching with it Carol.

[dapiers]

There is a manufacturer/machine shop in Pennsylvania that makes mounts specifically for Promethean boards. There are sliding mounts, mounts for both AB+2 fixed and regular activeboards to mount over existing chalkboards. www.mbmachine.com (http://www.mbmachine.com) I've attached some photos. They also can customize products to a specific customer's needs and have products for eno, Hitachi and SMARTboards as well, in case your school still has a mix of equipment. Good luck!