TFCinfo today announced the completion of its latest report: “The Use of Projection and Interactive Whiteboards in Education 2013.” TFCinfo’s report examines and provides detailed information on the use of projectors and interactive whiteboards in educational settings, along with AV video display buying trends in both K-12 and higher education.

The need to improve the learning process and enhance the educational experience has been driving AV purchases in educational institutions for years. With the trend of downward pricing, investing in more AV technology is finally a possibility for more and more schools.

This research shows that interactivity continues to be increasingly important to the educational initiatives in K-12 and interactive applications are in demand for all educators who want to involve their students and use learning with technology as a tool. “Interactivity has progressed greatly, despite its additional cost. K-12 has made the most use of interactivity and thus gives a significantly higher priority to interactive features of video displays,” states Tanya Lippke, TFCinfo director of survey market research. “70 percent of those in K-12 state that on screen interaction is extremely/very important to them, compared to 49 percent in higher education.”

The interactivity that is desired in school settings can be reached in all three technologies (projectors, whiteboards and flat panels), and this research has revealed some very interesting insights into the competitive interaction of the different display technologies.

While projectors are still the display technology that is most widely used in K-12, it is interactive whiteboards that are highly desired by educators. K-12’s strong interest and figures for interactive whiteboards in this research is actually quite interesting considering budget sensitivities. This suggests that K-12 is continuing to research and look towards interactive whiteboards for their needs and are perhaps still not fully aware of the emergence of lower priced interactive projectors as a cheaper alternative.

Since interactive whiteboards are still not available in very large numbers in schools, the lower priced interactive projectors and flat panels could have a major impact on the market position of interactive whiteboards in K-12. The rate of adoption of interactive displays in the education market could also be affected with more awareness for the differing technologies at different price points at an end user level.

Projectors perform very well in comparison to other display devices, especially among those in higher education. Projectors currently dominate in higher education due to image size, although many of the most important characteristics of a video display (as rated by end users in each educational sub-segment) are being delivered and met by projectors. Projectors offer the largest display, at an affordable price, without taking up precious classroom space.

This report also revealed a large intent to purchase flat panels in the future for higher education. This is potentially disturbing for projectors; however these are likely for digital signage and entertainment applications, rather than classroom use.

Some major differences are seen in this research between the two groups as to what information sources are most influential, who has the decision making power, how often and how many video displays are being purchased, and how the purchase process works.

This 260+ page report provides readers with the answers needed to more fully understand this market segment, and will enable them to approach this market in a more informed manner. Along with research conclusions of the overall education segment and usage of the displays, some important topics covered include: the install base for video displays, brand usage, future purchasing and important product characteristics, the purchase process (influencers, decision makers, frequency, and training), and much more.

This detailed study is now available for purchase. For a complete brochure and outline of this report, contact Tanya Lippke, TFCinfo director of survey market research, at (207) 783-0055 or tmlippke@tfcinfo.net.