New Device Can Turn a TV Into an Interactive Whiteboard
Incorporating touch
technology, a new device can turn any flat-screen television or
monitor into
an interactive whiteboard. The Touchjet
Wave was first introduced to the
consumer market at International CES in January. It was introduced to
the
education market during ISTE's
annual
conference taking place this week in Denver.
The Wave is a device that hooks on to the top of a television and
turns it
into a giant Android tablet. It connects to any TV with HDMI
and uses a
mix of infrared technology, sensors and what Touchjet calls its Light
Processing Unit (LPU) to track finger movements on the screen. A camera
and
dual-stereo microphones for video chats can also be added.
The
Touchjet Wave uses its
own launcher on top of Android KitKat and offers full access to the
Google Play
Store.
"Wave
empowers educators
in collaborative learning classrooms as they seek to help their
students gain a
deeper understanding of content, improve teamwork skills and take
ownership of
their learning," said Touchjet CEO Helen Thomas.
Wave
will be available for
$299 beginning in July.
Touchjet
is one of the
startup companies selected by the State
Educational Technology
Directors Association to take part in
its fourth annual Emerging
Technologies Forum, going on at the same time as
the ISTE conference.
At last year's ISTE conference, Touchjet introduced Pond, an ultra-portable projector that can display
images
as wide as 80 inches on any surface, allowing teachers and students to
interact
directly with photos, videos, games and presentations. Pond
weighs just 9 ounces and can fit in the
palm of your hand.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.