In the pitch black of the night, bright blue screens shine through window after window of the high school. It’s not a brand new 70-inch flat screen television and it’s not aliens invading, it’s the new interactive panels added to all classrooms to replace the HDMI screen projectors teachers and students are accustomed to. 

Due to the Bond 2021’s Proposition B that passed in November of that year, every teacher received a new interactive panel for their classroom over the summer.  Many teachers are experiencing a learning curve since this is the first year with the panels, however some new teachers have had prior experience. Economics and Psychology teacher Lauren Livingston came from Lake Travis ISD and said she believes the panels will be beneficial for an abundance of reasons. 

“It operates just like a giant smart TV so once you get used to it, the navigation is a piece of cake,” Livingston said. “The projectors were never my cup of tea [due to having them at LTISD]. They never worked the way I needed them to, so I think this panel will be beneficial for teachers and students alike.”

The interactive panels allow teachers to take screenshots, give immediate feedback and give students a chance to participate in class lectures with the use of interactive websites and the writing feature of the panels. They can also screencast from a phone or iPad to mimic a document camera. 

“The projectors were extremely limited to just one function and for someone who does many different things in my room, I felt like they were a hindrance more than anything,” Livingston said “The projector is just an HDMI connection rather than a device on it’s own that is interactive, so it just helps keeps the students more engaged in class.”
Many teachers have taken full advantage of the writing feature of the panel, where they can annotate lecture slideshows, stories, or photos for the students

“I do love the ability to display certain spanish vocabulary or spanish conjugation [on the panels],” advanced spanish II and III teacher Sofia Pickle said. “I can go and write underneath it or take notes directly on those words or the worksheet I have displayed. I really enjoy that the panels are accessible and have features that are fun for students.”

Senior Runi Patel said the panels have made the lectures feel rushed because of some of the features. 

“Most, if not all, my teachers write things on the panels. [When they move on] they erase it all completely, verses on the projectors they could keep it on the screen a little longer. I also liked the projectors better because the words and everything is a lot bigger.” 

Despite this, Patel said the panels are helpful in some of her classes because they’re more interactive with the students.
“The teachers don’t have to run back and forth, they can just be directly in front working on [the panel],” Patel said. “Especially in English, it helps a lot because our teacher annotates directly on the text. It’s a lot easier to follow and understand.”

Freshman Jessica Fernandez said the panels have helped her in her classes with the transition from middle school to high school courses. 

“It does depend on if a teacher knows how to use the panels,” Fernandez said. “But, most of my teachers do sometimes annotate on the panels, or they will have background music playing, and it has made the transition from middle school to high school classes easier for me. It just keeps me more engaged in class.” 

As the construction around the school continues, the projectors will eventually be out of every classroom and the panels will be the main source of technology for teachers to present with. Livingston says the panels will be beneficial for everyone in the school. 

“I feel like the possibilities are endless [with the panels] and we haven’t even received our follow up training yet,” Livingston said. “The panels allow teachers multiple ways to share their lessons for what works for their room which, in turn, will benefit the students as well.”