A group of students is surrounded by a semi-circular interactive wall. The wall changes in relation to the focus of the activity: from rainforest when studying climates to deep under the sea looking at life forms. At the end of the introduction, these images shrink into small screens and are placed all around the board where students group to interact with the display, touching images to find more detail, activating video images and sound files. Another group of students move their images onto an interactive desk where they pass text, files and movies between themselves and share findings and ideas. The movement of the objects is seamless, allowing students to copy items from the shared space into their private areas of the table.

The Futurelab Innovations Workshops are designed to bring together experts from research, practice and the creative industries to investigate how technology can impact upon learning in 5, 10, and 15 years' time. This workshop focused upon how technologies that create, and allow manipulation of, large-scale displays can be used effectively in the classroom and how they could be developed to aid learning. The workshop provided an opportunity for these diverse groups to share their understanding from their own professional perspectives so to create a variety of scenarios of the future possibilities of learning technologies.


Current technology

There are many different types of visual display technologies that can be used in the classroom. The most widespread is the data projector that is connected to a laptop/desktop computer, interactive whiteboard or tablet PC. A factor that has motivated interest amongst pupils and praise from teachers for data projectors is the fact that these can display a large image on the wall/whiteboard that is easy for all of the class to see. This image is an enlarged copy of the image on the computer screen and can be a precise diagram (as opposed to a free-hand drawing); clearly defined text (as opposed to handwriting); or links to webpages, videos or presentations. Alone, the data projector offers great access to presenting rich resources for shared work, but the benefits of using this technology are greatly improved when combined with the benefits of the various input devices.

Interactive whiteboards are the most common method of interacting with large visual displays, a key benefit being the ease of manipulation of texts and images. This kinaesthetic motion of dragging images and text into correct positions can assist in embedding learning and understanding of concepts and links to pedagogical approaches based upon visual, auditory and kinaesthetic approaches to learning. This is a key benefit of IWBs and can be linked particularly to SMARTboards that allow users to manipulate text/images with fingers as well as pens. When linked to the affordance of the data projector to show hyperlinks, animation and various sizes/colours of font and backgrounds this particular benefit is made clearer.

Visualisers and digital presenters allow three-dimensional objects to be projected onto a wall/large screen. This system can be linked to a tablet PC in order to create interactivity, and linked further to video and sound equipment. The visualiser allows a demonstration of minute detail to be seen by the whole class. By combining the display given by an overhead projector (OHP) with the detail of a digital video camera, demonstrations such as threading a needle, using a protractor or investigating tiny opaque objects can be shared.

Quorum Tools offer a different approach to collaborative learning when connected to a data projector. This tool allows multiple cursors to work on the screen at one time, enabling users to annotate, comment and draw on screen or over a document at the same time as their classmates. Clear benefits of this system are that no shadow is caused when interacting with the displayed image (as opposed to technologies where users interact on the displayed image); the use of multiple cursors with the ability to work collaboratively on the same document as a non-present partner (connected via a web link); and the focus of the tool which encourages discussion about a shared focus (for example a text extract or image).


Benefits of current technologies

In order to successfully integrate visual display technologies into practice, great consideration needs to be given to the content that is shown. By using these technologies, practitioners have access to rich multimedia resources, using video images, animation, still images, text and in some cases sound. Another key benefit of many visual display technologies is the fact that they can work with generic programs. These technologies then present themselves as classroom tools that teachers can use to create and deliver lessons that are tailored to their own specific learning environments.

Other key benefits of visual display technologies:

• enabling students to take greater control of their learning by actioning events and selecting tools and information
• allowing students to share product as a focus of communication/reflection
• producing a shared workspace for collaborative activities
• working away from desk, standing at a shared space
• strong links to traditional teacher-led pedagogy
• enables access to a kinaesthetic approach to learning
• motivating and engaging for users
• wide variety of software available.

• displaying images and text for shared work on an interactive table surface that allowed students to share and manipulate resources
• surround interactive boards that allowed users to observe and interact with displays within and outside of their peripheral vision
• seamless movement between technologies, allowing users to create, display, edit work using a variety of hardware and software appliances
• seamless movement within the display, bringing items to the fore and pushing others into the background, moving work from shared space to private areas.