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Interactive Whiteboard Statistics

by Team Clarus on May 14, 2012

Interactive whiteboards are steadily growing in popularity for the past ten years. Interactive whiteboards offer educators a fully integrated board that allows a variety of features, and while they have taken a few years of undergoing a public research and testing phase, they are becoming an extremely useful tool for many teachers and professors. The numbers don’t lie, and an annual survey carried out by The British Educational Suppliers Association reported that in 2004 26% of primary schools in the United Kingdom had an interactive whiteboard of some kind. This number was up 5% from 2003. Furthermore, 73% of primary schools have at least one whiteboard in the school.

Not only have they seen rapid growth over the pond, but one U.S. company reported that 557,000 interactive whiteboards were shipped in 2008, which was a huge 32% increase from 2007. Now there are over two million interactive whiteboards installed worldwide and whiteboard companies foresee the one out of every five classrooms will have an interactive whiteboard by the end of 2013.

Since interactive whiteboards are obviously here to stay there are two important factors in choosing which one is best for your curriculum. As with any technology, the interactive whiteboard is constantly evolving and becoming better. The marketplace for interactive whiteboards has become extremely competitive in the past few years, which gives schools and colleges great options and even a bit of bargaining power, based on how large their order is.

One of the most important things to look for in an interactive whiteboard is a quality product. While whiteboards have been out for over a decade now, it doesn’t mean their prices have dropped or that you can find a high-quality board for a steal. Being a cheap or faulty interactive whiteboard can create problems, since many teachers will avoid using certain technologies if they aren’t consistently working.

This is why quality is one of the biggest factors in how long your board will last. Some glass whiteboards will have upgradable software and tools, so investing in a good board can definitely pay off in the long-run. One of the best boards you can get now is a glass dry erase interactive board, since the glass not only gives a sleek and modern look, but never has problems with ghosting and streaking. Glass lasts for many years and won’t need to be replaced like an ordinary whiteboard.

About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.

Part II: Most Effective Study Tools for College Students

by Team Clarus on May 11, 2012

Preparing your child for college can be an exciting and overwhelming time. While some parents worry about their children living on their own for the first time, and adjusting to their new homes, many parents will overlook their children’s grades for the first few semesters. One of the best ways to keep your student on track is to supply them with the best study tools possible and to stay involved in their daily or weekly academic schedule. Here are a few more great study tools:

Highlighters – Books for school have become outrageously expensive. Some classes can tack on another $200 or even $300 in books and study materials in addition to the cost of tuition. While you may want your child to keep their books in pristine condition for the buyback value, it’s not realistic to expect them to do so. Highlighting is one of the best ways your student can stay focused on written material, and the more colors they use, the better they can categorize the information in their head. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to only find about a 10-20% return on a book that’s re-purchased, and it’s not worth the money to keep a book spotless. Even worse is that sometimes a professor will switch editions for future semesters and your book will have close to no buyback value whether it’s highlighted, ripped and torn or in manufacturer’s condition.

Recorder – A recorder can be a great tool for many new college students, since professors can be much less accommodating on repeating information or re-writing formulas and equations. A recorder is discreet and can be used in conjunction with note-taking, or can be an extremely valuable tool for auditory learners, since they much rather hear the information on repeat than read the notes they were able to take down.

Whiteboard – Personal whiteboards are a great studying tool for college kids, since they are used to taking notes and having a visual representation in most classes. Whiteboards are great for dorm rooms, since your student can use them for studying, leaving messages to their roommates or even keeping track of their class schedules. Not only are magnetic glass boards great for personal use, your student can host study groups or brainstorming sessions in their communal space if their whiteboard is large enough. Whiteboards make sense not only because your student is used to learning from them, but because the information can be left up the week before an exam to help keep information fresh in their minds.

About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.

Part I: Most Effective Study Tools for College Students

by Team Clarus on May 11, 2012

College is an exciting time in any young adult’s life; most are on their own for the first time in their lives, and while they’ve been studying for years in grade school, college can be a whole new world. Often times, college and university classes are so large, professors won’t even bother taking attendance or asking where your assignments are. While it may be a nice change for some kids, less supervision in the classroom can lead to slipping grades. So how can you prepare your kid for their first few years of college?

It’s important to stay involved in their education. Parents tend to worry about their children adjusting to their new living situation, whether or not they are making friends, and if they have enough money to get by. While these are all valid concerns, parents can quickly forget that their child is at school for their education first and foremost. Many kids can get off track in the first couple semesters, since they are completely unsupervised for the first time in their lives. While it’s a common mistake that can be easily corrected, some colleges are less tolerant of slacking scores and your child can find themselves on academic probation very quickly. Setting your college student up with the right tools can help them stay on track:

Laptop – One of the best tools you can get your college student is a laptop, since they can take it with them to class and take notes, give presentations and bring it to study groups. While a laptop can be extremely useful, it’s important that your student have a personal computer of their own, even if it’s not portable. Libraries do offer computers and sometimes extended computer times, but come exam time your student may find it extremely difficult to find an open computer and their studying may suffer.

Flash Cards – Flash cards may seem like an antiquated study tool, but for many majors, it can be one of the most effective forms of studying. Pre-med students find flash cards extremely helpful, since they are often tested on hundreds or even thousands of vocabulary words for anatomy, biology, chemistry and pharmacy classes. Flash cards are a great study tool, since they can take them from class to class, study during their lunch break and even take them to a friend’s place to study.

To read more about effective study tools, check out Part II on our glass whiteboard blog, Clarus.

About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.

Part II: Whiteboards and Doodling in the Workplace

by Team Clarus on May 2, 2012

Social Media giant, Facebook Inc. is one of the companies taking advantage of the doodling trend, and are incorporating whiteboards, glass whiteboards and even chalk boards on all sorts of spaces around its office to spark creativity. Everett Katigbak, a communication designer at Facebook, says “the hand is the easiest way to get something down,” and the company’s office is filled with doodles ranging from statistical and mathematical equations all the way to cat and dog cartoon sketches. In fact, most of Facebook’s office walls have been coated in dry-erase paint or glassboards to promote creativity at every turn.

Other companies are also realizing and reaping the benefits of doodling. Software maker, Citrix Systems Inc opened a “design collaboration” workspace in its headquarters last summer, where they encouraged their engineers and other employees to put down the smartphones and gadgets and to pick up a marker. Not all employees have loved the idea, especially those who believe they are less artistically-inclined or creative than their colleagues; however participants at Citrix are encouraged to start off meetings with drawing a self-portrait or simple sketch to get their more comfortable with the idea. Many managers love the idea, and think its natural to want to illustrate your point. For that reason, Citrix has surfaces covered in whiteboards and glass whiteboards, to make doodling easy. They even take the idea one step further and keep pipe cleaners and foam balls handy to help create 3-D models.

Still, some companies haven’t had the greatest transition with the concept, and have created workshops for managers to learn the simple ideas of doodling for communication. Spectrum Health System in Grand Rapids, Michigan held a workshop for technology managers to learn the ins and outs of what they call “visual problem solving.” This workshop showed managers that even simple images like stick figures and arrows can help explain the complexities of the healthcare industry. For the sake of time and simplicity, many companies encourage rough sketches and doodles, since you’re only trying to convey an idea, not paint a beautiful picture.

All kinds of companies are realizing the benefits of sketching and adding visual representations to their offices. Turner Broadcasting System Inc. drew a Turner Classic Movies tree, which branched out in three different directions, helping show the direction the brand was going. This simple exercise yielded over 200 ideas and many employees felt the visual was extremely powerful.

About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.

Part I: Whiteboards and Doodling in the Workplace

by Team Clarus on April 30, 2012

Humans have always communicated through drawing; it’s one of the most primitive, yet effective ways to communicate across the board. Interestingly enough, most companies have lost sight of this fact and their form of communication has moved to a more black and white, pen and paper system. More recently, even, with everything going towards web- and computer-based systems, we’ve come close to eliminating the need for pens entirely. So how do employees unleash their creativity on a keyboard? They don’t.

Many companies are recognizing that we may have taken our smartphone, social media and internet obsessions just a few steps too far, and we’ve nearly eliminated the use of the old-fashioned pen and paper. For this reason, many companies are taking a step back and encouraging their employees to pick up a pen…or better yet, a marker or crayon! That’s right, many companies are encouraging the use of visual note-taking and brainstorming to help not only convey your concepts to colleagues more effectively, but to unleash their pent-up creativity.

Many large companies are jumping on the doodling idea. Companies like Zappos and HomeAway Inc., have reported that they’re hiring “graphic recorders,” which are consultants who sketch the ideas being discussed in meetings and conferences, to help give employees a visual and keep them engaged in the conversation.

HomeAway, a Texas vacation-rental company, hired the “graphic recorder” to help guide meetings with visual sketches and shorthand. The VP of human resources said that the aim was to “capture ideas using images” and that the meetings were much more fun and beneficial than being surrounded by spreadsheets and emails all day. The graphic recorders trained employees at HomeAway to use doodling more for communication, and their glass marker board still hangs at the company’s headquarters, as a fun reminder of how powerful visual communication can be.

Studies have actually shown that doodlers retain more information than nondoodlers. One psychology professor at the University of Plymouth in England explains that the logic is that doodling takes just enough cognitive energy to prevent employees from daydreaming or drifting off. Not only does doodling keep employees focused, many proponents of the idea say that doodling helps simplify communication, fuel collaboration and generate new ideas. Doodling is also extremely beneficial for companies with global colleagues, since images can help break down culture barriers and communication issues.

About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.

Whiteboard Staining and Ghosting

by Team Clarus on April 23, 2012

Whiteboards have been the better chalk board alternative for over twenty years; you don’t need any messy chalks, you can write in multiple colors, and they wipe clean—most of the time, at least. While whiteboards have become one of the most popular boards in classrooms, offices, and even home, their streaking, staining and ghosting can become frustrating fast.

So why do whiteboards streak and stain to begin with? One of the biggest problems with whiteboards is that you should only use dry erase markers on these surfaces, which can dry out quickly and leave you in a bind when you’ve run out of ink.

If you’ve accidentally used a permanent market or grease pen on the board, you will need to specially clean your board before it’s ruined. The pigments in permanent markers contain extremely water-resistant chemicals, which can make cleaning a pain. Nail polish remover and acetones can typically remove the permanent marker without too much staining and damage to the board.

The more common reason a whiteboard will ghost or stain is because dry erase marker ink is made of color pigments similar to permanent markers. In fact, the only real difference between a permanent marker and a dry erase marker is that dry erase markers use an oily silicone polymer that keeps the pigment from sticking to non-porous surfaces.

While the dry erase marker typically wipes clean from surfaces, most whiteboards have a slight static charge to help the pigment stick to the surface. Over time whiteboards no longer wipe clean and can leave ugly stains and ghosted images. Once your board starts staining, you will need to clean it every few uses, to ensure a clean and streak-free board. Not only can it be a pain to constantly clean your boards, but the additional chemicals will add wear and tear and reduce your board’s lifespan.

One of the best ways to avoid whiteboard staining and streaking is to invest in a glass whiteboard, which will never stain or streak. Glass whiteboards can come in black, white, clear or even custom colors and are more eco-friendly. A glass whiteboard will never stain, streak or ghost because the surface is completely non-porous, and the glass is tempered for extra strength. Glassboards are a great investment, because you won’t need to constantly replace them due to staining or wear and tear.

About Clarus Glassboards: Clarus is the leading manufacturer and innovator of glass whiteboards and glass visual display products. For more information about clear dry erase boards and our other glass architectural systems, please call 888-813-7414 or visit www.clarusglassboards.com.

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