Personal Projector will be at the Learning Technologies exhibition, Olympia this week to demonstrate to trainers and the L&D community how mini projectors are revolutionising learning technologies.

Be a Pack Horse No More

Trainers around the country are starting to buy into the concept of using pocket projectors instead of having to lug around more equipment than a donkey. Now instead of having to carry the projector, power supplies and different cables for each device trainers are beginning to switch to one device that simply fits in your pocket. They are ditching the laptop and projector and having informal training sessions with small groups of users and shooting from the hip…quite literally.

If you’re regularly on the road then these types of device can be invaluable, as not only are they easy to set up with only 4 seconds on and off time but it means as a trainer you’re 100% certain that you have the content you need at the ready immediately and are not having to rely on the venue for anything, including power or worrying about compatability of devices or even whether or not if the projector you’ve booked is actually going to turn up so you can start the session on time.

Shoot From the Hip

The real advantage for most trainers seems to be that they can use the device on any surface or wall and it’s also a great way to enhance people’s attention as the device really creates a wow factor and heightens attention spans. Although this will wear off for the longer training sessions it’s certainly useful to know you can present your company, brochures, videos, artwork etc just about anywhere to try and get your message across in a different way.

A noticable trend with mini projectors is that with the growth in web books or Netbooks it means trainers can carry around huge volumes of information on a very small laptop yet carry with them a very small projector like the 3M micro projector and project up to 50″ so they get the best of both worlds.

Representatives from Personal Projector will be at the Learning Technologies Exhibition, Olympia 28th and 29th January so if you’d like to shed that pack horse feeling contact them on 0845 121 8800 for a demo.

Personal Projector will be at the Event Show on Wed and Thurs this week. Should you wish to see a demo of how you can really grab your customers attention at any event, exhibition or marketing event then come and see us or call us on 07954 211 375 or 0845 121 8800.

Mini pocket projectors are ideal for any companies wanting to create something really different for their events or exhibitions. Each of your staff could benefit from having a projector with its own built in memory so you can really demonstrate your capabilities and project your company brochures, corporate video or marketing materials on a hand held projector.

Its ideal to be able to show multiple messages without having to heavily invest in expensive plasma screens or even expensive or hard to find power sources as all the devices are battery powered and really low cost. Not to mention, how impressed will your prospect be if you just answer there questions there and then with a video, powerpoint or even marketing exposé on the nearest wall or even onto the floor.

Powermat's Wireless charging solution

The Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas may have been a little emptier than usual in 2009 with only half the usual number of visitors and many exhibitors deciding simply not to attend, however there were several exciting developments which will make a difference to peoples lives over the next few months

One such development is the wireless powermat which will bring an end to carrying lots of chargers and cables for multiple devices. It also means you’ll never need to worry about picking up the wrong charger if all your chargers start to look the same.

The matts will be ideal for travellers carrying around multiple devices such as an ipod, mobile, camera, camcorder, psp or even pico projector. Initially the matts are likely to compatible with the most popular gadgets on the market such as the iphone or major brands perhaps followed closely by the most power hungry gadgets.

To date the one drawback with wireless chargers has been that multiple adaptors have been required to ensure compatabilty which means carrying around a stack of adaptors which is only a minor improvement on carrying lots of chargers in the first place. The beauty of the wireless power matts is that the batteries themselves have “sleeves” attached to them which can either be either retro fitted or embeded during manufacturing. Thus, all you have to do is place any compatible device onto the matt and through near field conduction the batteries are charged as normal with no cables or plugs in sight.

This will be great for road warriors and we’re really looking forward to seeing them in operation for the mini projector market as although these devices have a very respectable 2 hour battery life it would really be a bonus to be able to charge up several spare batteries at once on a power matt. Hopefully the manufacturers will incorporate these options into the next generation of pico projectors and we’ll soon see them in projectors such as the 3m micro projector or the Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10.

BETT Show, Olympia 2009

Personal Projector are at BETT, the education show, Olympia this week and will be hooking up with teachers and trainers from across the UK to discuss uses and applications of hand held projectors in the classroom. If anyone at the show this week, would like to chat about pocket projectors and their applications please dont hesitate to call us on either 07954 21 375 or 0845 121 8800 and we would be happy to talk about the various options on the market.

To date, there have been some interesting uses of the mini pocket projector in education as demonstrated by Clare Kelly an Acting Head Teacher and  Teacher of the Year 2005 (Northern Region ). Clare says, “we are beginning to harness this type of portable projection technology in the classroom. For example, within our primary school we are finding it useful for promoting quality speaking and listening opportunities in order to support the objectives of the renewed framework for literacy.”

Clare also believes that the technology has a number of benefits for both pupils and teachers, “Children are really taking an interest in the content because its coming from an exciting new device that they can actually control themselves. With it being so portable it can be used in teaching areas without traditional projection facilities such as shared learning areas. One such example is with teaching assistants delivering the daily phonics session.

3m Micro projector

One of the things I really like about the projectors is their portability; they can easily be transported around school and used in a variety of teaching spaces. There is no need to ensure there is a power socket available or a projection screen. Staff project onto wall space, easels and even onto a large sheet of paper.  The projectors are ideal for working with small groups of children with Teaching Assistants or group members who can control the content delivery.

The ability to play video clips has been a  particularly  exciting application for the product. Staff have downloaded content from Espresso and Teacher Tube onto the Aiptek Pocket Cinema for use with small groups.  We recently used it when teaching French where videos of native speakers reading French story books were played to encourage a genuine French accent. The advantage of the pocket projector is that it focuses pupil learning and in MFL lessons pupils are more likely to experiment and practice speaking a foreign language if they are in a small group situation. It also helps they they also think that it’s a totally cool technology!

From a budgeting perspective,  mini projectors are affordable, totally portable and help us fulfil many objectives such as improved mobile learning, enhanced knowledge sharing, improved health and safety (as there are fewer wires), greener use of technology and will even help lower our long term costs (bulbs don’t need to be replaced).

From a teachers point of view, small hand held projectors are ideal as they are completely silent as they have no fan and can be turned on and off almost instantly without the need to boot up and down.

We used Personal Projector as they were the only firm who we felt clearly understood our training and education needs and also helped the school choose the right pico projector as there are some very distinct differences between the types available.”(see compare pico projectors).