Tell me about ViewSonic – which countries are you active in, and what is your education offering?
We are a leading provider of visual solutions; our solutions include worldwide markets in interactive display solutions and advanced investments in innovation and technology.
As a globally recognised leader in visual display technology, we are dedicated to meet the needs of our customers, deliver value to our customers and partners, continuously introduce innovative technologies, products and solutions, and conduct business in an environmentally-friendly manner.
We provide total solution and one-stop consultation as our education offering, such as hardware (IFP, Projector, Touch Monitor, Pen Display), software (myViewBoard, vCast, Device Management and Companion App), contents, accessories and entire ecosystem.
We have been providing the education and corporate sectors an integrated solution for more powerful ViewBoard interactive panel functions, such as large-scaled wireless group presentation, video conferencing, file sharing and screen sharing solution.
The face of education has changed entirely since the Covid-19 pandemic, what products are ViewSonic offering as solutions during these times, and what benefits do they provide to users?
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, and ViewSonic made distance learning more accessible, entertaining and engaging.
We expanded our series in myViewBoard distance learning tools and resources for users by providing a new tool, ‘myViewBoard Classroom’, which educators can use to host a virtual classroom with students. It has the features required to implement interactive and engaging sessions. It’s the easy-to-use and secure software solution.
In addition to the software, ViewSonic MEA has hosted over 100 webinars for users during the pandemic, and we will continue to support the education sector all over the MEA region with training on our hardware and software solutions.
So as leading Edtech provider in the MEA region, we have been extending our support to all parties by offering our valuable myViewBoard Classroom, completely free of charge during this pandemic. For free registration Click Here
Tell me more about the myViewBoard eco system – what are its special features, and why is it such an integral solution for the modern classroom?
As we all know, due to the pandemic, it has changed our world and affected all aspects of our lives. It also changes the way we teach and educate. People are still discussing how the schools will re-open in new academic year; will they continue online or mixed or be mixed with classroom attendance. Whatever the solution, educators will still be in the classroom, teaching from home, or reaching students via a combination of both methods, and the myViewBoard™ Ecosystem provides teachers with a complete suite of tools for intuitive content creation and delivery of interactive learning programmes.
These are some main features in tools in the myViewBoard ecosystem:
- Digital whiteboard software: used in physical classrooms with ViewBoard, and can also be used with third party video conference app such as Zoom or Teams.
- myViewBoardClassroom: as an online browser-based education platform to be used as a virtual classroom for distance learning.
- myViewBoardClips and Original Contents: digital materials to be used by educators.
- myViewBoardWiki: supports our users to know more and ‘how to’ related questions.
- Device Management: allows IT people to manage ViewSonic IFP remotely and efficiently.
- Companion APP: can be downloaded by App store or Play store and used to logo in myViewBoard, throw images or answer questions.
A lot of teachers and students are unsure what the new academic year will look like; will students be fully back in schools or will there be more of a hybrid model with virtual learning still of equal importance. Tell me more about ViewSonic’s flexible solutions to these different scenarios and how they can help and support educators to produce materials that engage and interact with students?
The main benefit of the ViewSonic myViewBoard software is its flexibility. As there’s uncertainty regarding the new academic year, our solutions can be integrated and used in any scenario.
For the physical classroom, ViewBoard provides features and tools to educators to prepare materials that are easy to present, with large-scaled wireless presentation and effective users participation through video-conferencing and file sharing.
As for distance learning part, I’ll highlight myViewBoardClassroom, which is a collaborative tool for delivering education content that enables visual learning and participation for a full class, individuals or groups of students. With the ability to conduct group collaboration, manage a virtual classroom with video conferencing tools and secure user participation,
myViewBoardClassroom comes complete with a digital whiteboard canvas, to prepare and present content in real-time. Teachers control when students can ask questions, or make comments, as well as managing who may display their screens to the class for presentations. Student participation is encouraged via the Hand Raise push-to-talk feature and student access to remote writing tools. Independent breakout group discussions are made possible with virtual grouping, allowing real-time annotation and quizzes.
What does the future have in store for ViewSonic?
The future for ViewSonic will hold more innovative and advanced visual solution products, especially now that ViewSonic is the leader in interactive flat panel solutions in the UAE with regards to market share, as per Future Source results for Q1& Q2 – 2020. We will continue to work hard to provide quality, value and solutions, while strengthening and maintaining our position as a trusted leading player in the local market.
Our priority in delivering outstanding solutions includes the innovative LCD monitors and portable projectors, which are already making a change in the overall home cinema experience across the region.
Furthermore, due to the potential and immense opportunities in this market, we are gradually bringing in more and more innovative visual solution products such as Pen Display, Signature Pad and AIO Direct View LED display into this region in the coming months.
What advice would you give to educators looking to source and purchase interactive digital displays for the classroom – are there any key features or specifications they should look for?
Interactive display has become a critical tool for preparing students for success. With options including interactive flat panels (IFP) and interactive projectors, they should dig a bit to know which technology is right for their classrooms.
There are several types to choose from, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. A clear winner is emerging in interactive flat panel displays like ViewBoard, as it offers numerous advantages over the traditional, projector-based interactive whiteboard, as well as interactive projectors.
Educators should take into consideration their budget, space constrains, quality of product (total cost of ownership), ease of use and the vendor’s local support and response. They can then make the right choice. The technology is evolving and reliable, and a good quality hardware product is definitely still important. However, the software plays an even bigger part in the full solution nowadays, and we are very proud of myViewBoard software and the entire ecosystem, which has a genuine advantage over our competitors.
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