Here’s another option for those times that teachers want to interact with something they are displaying on their whiteboard (or just on a projector) without having to go to the computer.
This mini wireless touchpad and keyboard is an inexpensive way device that could be quite handy for use in the classroom. Want the students to do a drag and drop task? Pass this around the classroom. Want simple text input? this would do that too. I found it slightly easier to use than a tablet. You still have to look at the screen rather than the pad, like you do with a tablet, but I found it much more like using a laptop touchpad.
I found them on Ebay for about £30 inc postage to the UK (shipped from Hong Kong). Or you can get them in Maplins in the UK for £39.99. Mine has just arrived, so I haven’t had a chance to test the full range of it yet, but the blurb says it can have a range of 10m. Not brilliant, but should cover a standard classroom?
The device comes with a charging lead (it charges from USB) and a receiver. I plugged it into my Windows 7 laptop and it installed painlessly.
It’s definitely an interesting little device which does provide a little more flexibility in how you use your Interactive Whiteboard resources with a class.
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About Me
Danny Nicholson : Educator, Science teacher, ICT Consultant, PGCE lecturer, Author and Web2.0 / SMART Masters/ Interactive Whiteboard Trainer. Contact me for any training requests. 
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I use this – full size keyboard with touchpad. I also have an Airliner Slate but difficult to type or control PC with this hence keyboard. £30
cheers Dave. that looks like another good solution. Maybe slightly less portable.. but for a classroom would be great.
This looks great, and it could have a ton of classroom applications. Does anyone know where to buy this product in the USA?
Not sure Drew. But I bet the Ebay supplier would ship to the US.
For the feature it offers, I think £39.99 is not bad at all. I am a big fun of gadgets and I recently bought a telly terminator.
Have you tested it yet? Did it meet your expectations? I’m curious…
works pretty well. I don’t need to use it often, but it’s quite easy to interact with the computer – just like using a laptop touchpad.