Consensus Group, a technology provider operating in the North West province, is deploying interactive displays from electronics manufacturer Ricoh South Africa into local school districts. According to a report by IT Web Africa, the installations transition classrooms away from traditional whiteboards to facilitate digital content delivery.
At Laerskool Generaal Hendrik Schoeman in Hartbeespoort, educators integrated an initial interactive display won through a competition hosted by the South African Teachers’ Union, an education labor organization, and Consensus Group. The school later secured funding to acquire six additional units. The hardware allows teachers to access online resources, annotate material on the screen and save completed lessons to a cloud platform. The overarching goal is to provide a single system that supports daily classroom presentations while allowing educators to import work prepared at home.
Educators utilize the displays across different academic subjects. During Natural Sciences instruction, teachers display three-dimensional models that students manipulate on the hardware. In Afrikaans classes, the system supports handwriting practice and poetry recitation. A study involving 305 educators indicated that teachers with a strong understanding of how to combine technology, teaching methods and subject content utilized interactive whiteboards with greater effect. The research linked regular hardware use to improved instructional performance. Because the equipment functions similarly to a large tablet, the familiarity lowers the learning curve for staff.
To support the deployments, Consensus Group manages the sales, installation, training and technical support phases. Training modules cover writing tools, cloud functions, application use and file management. Schools deploy a train-the-trainer model where technical staff receive detailed instruction before assisting colleagues. For facilities with budget constraints, the provider advises starting with mobile stands to share a single unit between different classrooms, allowing schools to build their inventory over time and transfer older equipment to under-resourced institutions.
