Educators need to look at the big picture when communicating with students

According to the World Health Organisation, 80 per cent of educational material is remembered when delivered via visual means and 90 per cent through interactive lessons, compared to just 25 per cent retained from one-way verbal lectures [1].

As a result, visual communication technologies – such as projectors and flat panels – are revolutionising the way education is delivered in schools and universities.

But as the traditional delivery of education diminishes and digitisation [2] in general (spending more time indoors and on screen) increases so does the negative impact on eye health. In fact, there has been a dramatic increase in myopia (short-sightedness) among half of Europe’s young adults – double the total amount 50 years ago.

Yet, despite this established link between the use of screens and eye health, many schools today remain uninform in their proper screen use and decision-making protocols.

Flat panel or projector?

There are two technology choices when it comes to group screen-teaching in schools: flat panels and projectors. Though projectors are the established technology, flat panels are being adopted by some establishments due to familiarity and perceived simplicity. However, research shows that 58 per cent of students cannot read all content provided on a 70-inch flat panel [3].

Not seeing what is being taught is detrimental to learning, and places undue strain on the eyes. Despite this, there is still no European legislation to govern how such technology should be used in the classroom, or to ensure that what is installed is visible to all students in the class and therefore fit for purpose.

Projectors offer a far more responsible and flexible choice for the education environment, providing much bigger, scalable screen sizes of up to 100 inches.

Further, today’s projectors are incredibly advanced, performing in daylight with super high colour-brightness, as well as incorporating connectivity that allows for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) interaction, interactive sensing and touch technologies, and bigger distortion-free images. In addition, they are more portable and take up much less space when not in use than a flat panel.

References:

[1] World Health Organisation (WHO)

[2] Nature.com 2015

[3] Epson white paper (Comparing leading 70” class model 4k resolution flat panel (top-selling, in units, excluding sales into hotels according to PMA distributor data for North America, sales Jan-Sept 2015) in a 22 feet width x 27 feet depth classroom style arrangement. When asked to copy down six short items of information from slides being displayed, 58 per cent of students aged 12-22 copied at least one item incorrectly. Based on US research conducted by Radius Research, April 2016.

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