That interactive whiteboards are extensively used by the education sector is widely known, but it looks like even the healthcare sector is finding uses for them. The e Health Insider reports that the Whiston Hospital is now using whiteboards in the training accorded to medical students and staff. The hospital is reportedly using 5 SMART whiteboards in its classrooms.

The use of these whiteboards apparently gives the trainers considerable flexibility in teaching highly complex subjects that hitherto required the use of several media. The hospital is also intending to use the enhanced audio and video capability of the whiteboard. Find out more about how the Whiston Hospital is making use of interactive whiteboards here.

Steljes, the sole distributor for SMART interactive whiteboards in Ireland, claims that SMART boards have captured almost 40% of the interactive whiteboards market in Ireland to make it the market leader in the country.

According to the company, the Irish interactive whiteboard market is witnessing huge demand as technology increasingly becomes an important part of the classroom. SMART Boards serve to provide students with the cutting edge technology and the interactive learning experience that they have come to expect in classrooms.

As part of its efforts to propagate the use of SMART interactive whiteboards, SMART has a provision for Education Development Consultants (EDCs) who are not only experts in SMART technology solutions but also qualified teachers with a strong understanding of student needs.

These whiteboards now have global user base of over 18 million students.

Smart Technologies has introduced a series of product platforms targeted at corporate clients. These new product platforms are Meeting Pro, SMART Hub SE and SMART Hub PE.

These products, that use data conferencing links, can be used together with even multiple interactive whiteboards and displays paving the way for “connected meeting rooms”.

The Smart Meeting Pro software enables whiteboarding and dataconferencing to meeting rooms; the Smart Hub SE device an interactive whiteboard or display so that no PC is required for basic whiteboarding; while Smart Hub PE can support single and multiple interactive displays in the same room and/or over distance.

- Report in AVInteractive.

Microsoft did a preview of its Touch Wall, a  6ft x 4ft prototype screen based on the company's surface multi-touch technology. The product follows the vision of Bill Gates, the company chairman, that all horizontal and vertical surfaces could be an inexpensive screen-display. He sees the Touch Wall to be a part of homes and offices in the near future.

The key difference between the Touch Wall and the other electromagnetic-based whiteboards is the ability to detect hand or stylus movements with the use of a camera beneath the screen.

While it is in the R&D phase, the company is already looking at its integration with Microsoft's flagship Office suite.

 More on this story from VNUNET.

Wainhouse Research is inviting users of interactive whiteboards to  participate in an online survey as part of their research to study the use of these whiteboards and other collaborative technologies in conference rooms and auditoria, reports AV Interactive.

Respondents who click this link to participate in the whiteboards survey have a chance to win an iPOD Touch or Amazon gift certificates worth £25.

Respondents will also be given findings from the survey.