Evaluating interactive smart panels: the checklist

ActivPanel 9 Premium and ActivPanel product comparison

Published: March 24th, 2023

A healthy edtech ecosystem is one that’s right-sized for your school and district, future-proofed for years to come, and tailored to the community of teachers, students and administrators who rely on it every day.  

Getting there takes careful planning. That’s why we created a comprehensive checklist you can use to evaluate any interactive smart panel—and invest in a solution with confidence. Find an executive summary below. 

Ready for the complete checklist? Download Creating Transformation Classrooms our strategic look at interactive panels for K-12 education—now. 

6 key considerations for your edtech investment  

1. Fit for purpose 

First things first: was the display specifically engineered for teaching? Better yet, was it designed by educators who understand student engagement from the inside out? 

2. Writing and touch experience  

A natural writing and touch experience—precise, lag-free, capable of distinguishing between finger, pen, stylus, and palm erase—keeps the focus on content and collaboration. Settle for nothing less than pen-on-paper smooth. 

3. Audiovisual quality   

Most large-format visuals can impress at a glance, but classroom screens must stand up to a closer look. Are the panel’s display quality and speaker configuration geared for making lessons properly immersive? How does its touchscreen interface with the LED behind it? (The answer makes a difference in preventing glare.) 

4. Personalization and security   

At Promethean, we strive for edtech that is so intuitive, it can simply disappear. A securely personalized experience makes this possible. User preferences and data should exist off the panel, in a cloud-based profile. Expect a natural, familiar, customized environment to become available the moment a display is switched on. 

 5. Computing and connectivity   

Flawless interaction with multiple devices, easy screen sharing, seamless integration with essential apps and platforms, and sheer processing power—in assessing panel performance, computing and connectivity are where the rubber meets the road. See our complete checklist for specific watch outs. 

6. Warranty, support, and training    

We believe that edtech has the power to change lives, giving every student a chance to let their brilliance shine. That’s why partnership is a touchstone for our list. From options for extended warranty coverage and the availability of 24/7 support, to strategic, teacher-led professional development, seek out a solution provider for whom hardware and software are just the start of an accountable and lasting relationship. 

As this quick look at our checklist shows—we didn’t even get to maintenance and accessories—when it comes to evaluating interactive panels, details truly make the difference. Now that classrooms are expected to be flexible, adaptable, and resilient in the face of constant change, demanding excellence from edtech matters more than ever. 

Take a closer look at the engineering behind all-new ActivPanel 9 when you download Creating Transformation Classrooms including our comprehensive checklist for evaluating interactive smart panels, today.