Clarus Glassboards

Interactive Whiteboard Statistics

Team Clarus — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:02:05 +0000

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

Team Clarus — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:40:15 +0000

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.

Part I: Most Effective Study Tools for College Students

Team Clarus — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:30:44 +0000

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.

Switching to Interactive Whiteboards

Team Clarus — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:01:15 +0000

Interactive whiteboards are one of the newest and most effective teaching tools a teacher can use. It’s long been known that there are different ways to learn; audibly, visually and by doing. Teaching in one way alone on a whiteboard can quickly ostracize two out of the three kinds of learners. For this reason, many schools are starting to take advantage of the interactive whiteboard in their classrooms, and studies are showing that it’s paying off.

One study divided 85 teachers into two groups; one that taught lessons on an interactive whiteboards, and the other that used a standard whiteboard. The teachers who used interactive whiteboards saw a 17% increase in students’ test scores. While teachers are still new to this technology and how to correctly employ it, the study found that when given 20-30 months to really sharpen their skills, educators saw an average of 20 percentile gain. The best results were achieved by a teacher who was trained to use the technology, used it for two years, and did so 75% of the time they taught and saw a 29 percentile gain in scores.

While the scores speak for themselves, it has also been noted that there can be a point of overkill on technology, when educators come close to removing the human aspect. When this happens, children are quick to lose interest in the lectures and increased scores begin to diminish. The other big issue that schools are encountering is the lack of training for their educators. Interactive whiteboards, like any new technology, need to be taught to teachers, so they are able to fully utilize them in class.

Some tips for educators planning on using interactive boards:

Properly Train – Training times may be anywhere from two to four months. Handing an educator an interactive board without supplying them proper training will not have nearly as positive of an effect on children’s test scores.

Use Student Feedback Constructively – Educators could easily get caught up in the training and forget that the most important factor is their students’ test scores. Asking for feedback can be one of the best ways to tailor your interactive clear dry erase board curriculum.

Give it Time – New technologies always require a bit of adapting to. Students and teachers may not see any improvement for the first few months, as they are adjusting to the new teaching style. Give the boards at least a full school year before giving up or changing anything drastically.

Part II: Whiteboards and Doodling in the Workplace

Team Clarus — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:45:12 +0000

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.

Part I: Whiteboards and Doodling in the Workplace

Team Clarus — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:25:17 +0000

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.

Whiteboard Staining and Ghosting

Team Clarus — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:48:18 +0000

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.

Why Buy a Magnetic Glass Whiteboard?

Team Clarus — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:50:04 +0000

Magnetic whiteboards are one of the best ways to communicate in schools, offices and especially at home. Glass whiteboards are the newest and best product on the market that replace the traditional whiteboard. Glass whiteboards offer a cleaner, more durable surface without the worry of streaking and staining. Not only are can you choose between a clear or a back-painted board, but they even have magnetic boards available. So why opt for a magnetic board?

College Teaching Board – Professors love magnetic whiteboards because often times, they don’t have their own classrooms. Many colleges will schedule a professor in a classroom based on their schedule, class size and building. Professors have their own offices, but when they have no name papers and exams, they need to display them to the class. Magnetic boards allow a professor to post no name papers, lists of group projects and even exam grades up for their classes to see. Not only are they a great resource for memos and missing assignments, but many professors utilize these boards to help them illustrate their lectures. History professors can attach pictures of historic figures for visuals, and science teachers may want to hang the periodic table for referencing during class.

Office Memo Board – Most organized offices have a Go-To meeting area or memo board. These memo boards may keep information like employee schedules, holiday notices and important office updates. Using a glass whiteboard as your office memo board helps you to keep the information all in one place. You can use your conference or presentation room and clear the memos whenever you need to write or present to your employees or clients. This way you are condensing the important information to one room, so your employees know exactly where to go if they have any questions.

Home Organization Board – Keeping a young family organized and on top of schedule is much more difficult than you’d think. A few years ago, many of us used our refrigerators as a magnetic board; which held our dearest paintings, good grades and important reminders. Any family with younger children knows how impossible this is to do. Magnets can be a choking hazard for younger children and can be pulled off or fall off every time the refrigerator door is slammed shut. Using a separate magnetic glass board is great, because you are no longer confined to the kitchen, you can install it as high up as needed, and you can keep it looking organized and neat.

Floor to Ceiling Clear Dry Erase Boards

Team Clarus — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:42:13 +0000

Deciding what kind of whiteboard can be a difficult process; there are hundreds of options to choose from. You can go with a back-painted glassboard, a mobile whiteboard, or the newer high-tech interactive boards. There truly is a board for every company and every image. One of the most effective uses of space, however, is the floor to ceiling whiteboards. Not only do they give a clean and professional look, but they provide an entire wall for brainstorming, instructing and communicating with your office.

So why opt for a floor to ceiling glass whiteboard?

The Look – Floor to ceiling boards are not only great for the additional space, but they can add refinement to any space. An architectural walling solution works perfectly for large projects, and opting for a glass whiteboard allows you to use not only dry erase markers, but permanent markers and grease pens as well. Choosing a glass whiteboard gives you the opportunity to customize your space, since you can opt for a back-painted board to spice up your brainstorming room, or keep the transparent look for a sleek and modern feel.

Custom Boards – The best part about floor to ceiling boards is that you can customize them to any space. Have a small utility room that you’re looking to get use out of? Turn it into your brainstorming or creativity room. Allow employees to speak freely and bounce ideas off of eachother in this room. It may be a bit cramped, but it can be a great creative outlet for your employees, and you may just find your next “big idea” from one of these brainstorming sessions. Floor to ceiling boards can even be for show. A glassboard can add color and style to a reception entrance or elevator wall, and can be customized to include a company logo, mission statement, or special message.

Utility – Floor to ceiling boards are great for architects, professors and creative professions. We’ve all hit a moment on a traditional sized whiteboard where we’re out of board space but not even close to being out of ideas and information. Some professors have to go back to the beginning of the board and erase old information that students may not have written. For companies brainstorming, they take the time to break or move to paper note-taking, which can interrupt the flow of ideas. A floor to ceiling clear dry erase board offer a limitless platform for your creativity and imagination.

Why Use an Interactive Magnetic Glass Board?

Team Clarus — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:16:46 +0000

Interactive whiteboards are some of the most technologically advanced learning tools used in the 21st century. These boards interface with a computer, allowing teachers to display and manipulate images on their boards for the entire class to see. Instructors can also use their finger as a mouse, and add notations using a pen or highlighter. So how are these boards quickly becoming one of the most effective ways to teach in a classroom?

Accommodates Various Learning Styles – Since these boards are so interactive, each “type” of learner can learn in their own way. A tactile learner can participate in the front of the class by touching the board, audio learners will benefit mostly from the group discussion and lectures themselves, and visual learners will enjoy the detailed graphics and better retain the images.

More Visually Stimulating – The interactive whiteboard is very colorful and can be as animated as the instructor chooses. They even make glass interactive whiteboards, which amplify and perfect the projection light. Students tend to respond well to colors in presentations and it will definitely hold their attention longer than the typical black marker on a plain white board. Opting for a glassboard also offers you the option of a magnetic surface, allowing your board to become even more interactive for students.

Great for Study Material – Many instructors will print off pages of blank PowerPoints for their students to use and to follow the discussion. While this is one way of helping students retain the information they learned, visual learners will do much better seeing the exact notes that were taken. These boards are great, since you can save and even print each slide for students or colleagues.

Boards Look Clean and Professional – Unfortunately, with budget cuts, most schools aren’t looking at their most clean and professional looking options, but these boards can help turn a classroom into a concentrated learning room. You have no worry of chalk dust or streaked or stained boards, since a magnetic glass board will wipe down completely after each use.

Great for Distance Learning – The world is shifting towards distance learning, which enables learners to have hundreds of education opportunities they may not have had just a few years ago. Interactive whiteboards are a great tool for distance learning, since you can connect users from around the country, without needing an expensive video camera and IT crew to record and document your every move.