SMART TV IN CLASSROOMS: A SMARTER INVESTMENT

MARIO S. DAVID JR.

Being part of an educational institution for years working as department technician and in-charge of the computer laboratories and our in-classroom facility for multi-media use or what we call E-classrooms. Though not an educator, I take pride in the fact that I am part of the teacher-learning process crucial for nation-building. Thus, I always think of what can I do to make our facilities better to fill the gap of the needs of the members of faculty in their teaching, and, what set of technology is best for their needs.

For quite some time now, the school, and even other educational institutions as well, has flourished in the use of multi-media assisted instruction using the day-light projectors (DLP). However, with the relatively limited capabilities, short utility life expectancy, and not to mention the use of long expensive cables just to connect them to the computer, I have come to realize that such facilities can be better.

I felt it was time for an upgrade. So what I did is I conceptualized of how a technologically equipped classroom should be. Here are my thoughts:

• Multimedia E-classrooms should be able to present different forms of content whether a text, audio, video, presentations and slides.

• Convenient E-classrooms should support different devices depending on what devices the users wish to use; it may be a laptop, a tablet, a phone or even with just their thumb drives.

• Neat Electrical wirings and other cables should be well placed. Accessories of computers are placed in the middle part of the whiteboard which is converted to a cabinet that when not in use, the middle part is a whiteboard.

• Smart TVs over DLP Projectors Smart TVs offers better quality of display over DLP Projectors and longer life expectancy, plus there are other options that Smart TVs can offer.

After realizing how a technologically equipped classroom should be, I started thinking if this kind of setup is better and if it will offer lower cost than with the present setup in our school. So I started comparing our present setup in our E-classrooms to what I imagined them to be. What are the advantages of replacing our existing DLPs in our E-classrooms? First is that Smart TVs use lower power consumption with only around 60-90 watts of power consumption per hour depending on the size of the screen while DLPs use 150-300watts per hour depending on its bulb wattage and lumens.

Second is that Smart TVs offer other features like USB Support which allows display of presentations and videos without the use of a laptop or the computer, thus less power consumption.

The third is the HDMI option, as newer laptops nowadays only supports HDMI for external display. With the HDMI option, it is way more convenient than transfer the file to the available computer desktop.

Fourth is life expectancy. On average, DLPs need to be replaced after 2 or 3 years as different problems starts to appear while we can expect more on Smart TVs. Which is easier to maintain and which is more cost effective? In our present arrangement with our E-classrooms, we have to use 10 meters of cable to connect the DLP which is mounted in the ceiling of the classroom to the computer that sits on the side of the blackboard. But with the computer sitting just below the Smart TV’s, only 2 meters of cable is needed which is much less expensive than with the 10 meters. With Smart TV’s lower power consumption, you reduce a huge amount on the electricity bill, and replacement of defective cables is inexpensive.

Though it may seem that it is an expensive project initially, but with the benefits and convenience it offers to the users and the cut down of maintenance and operating cost in the long run. For the good of the pupils, teachers, and the entire institution, I believe that it is really a project worth investing for.

— oOo— The author is a Computer Technician at the University of the Assumption