In the resources section of TheWorkshopLeader.com we speak about concrete equipment. This means devices, brands, and tests. For the use of it you’ll look at the Facilipaedia on the main page.
The first question always is: What do you need Boards & Flipcharts for? You can have the best gadget, but if doesn’t suit your purpose it’s useless, money wasted. You can buy a Porsche, but if you own a delivery service it’s just the wrong car.
Boards
Pin boards
Among Boards & Flipcharts, Pin Boards are the universal tool for workshops, trainings, and conferences: moveable, mostly foldable, for pinning, glueing, drawing etc. They are an investment that stays. I’ve come to offices where I was working with 20 year old boards and they were just fine.
Whiteboards
Mainly wall-mounted, some magnetic, too, in different sizes for teaching, training, meetings you’ll find them in offices, schools, as well as other workplaces. You need a place to hang. So, they are mostly made for one single location.
Electronic Whiteboards
SmartBoards™, by their brandname, or electronic whiteboards in general, are the modern “Egg Laying Wooly Pig”. You can everything and anything with them. The only disadvantage: They are not easily moveable. Some models come on rolls, but still it’s not very easy – not to say impossible – to stack them into your car and drive to the next workshop.
Electronic Whiteboards
SmartBoards™, by their brandname, or electronic whiteboards in general, are the modern “Egg Laying Wooly Pig”. You can everything and anything with them. The only disadvantage: They are not easily moveable. Some models come on rolls, but still it’s not very easy – not to say impossible – to stack them into your car and drive to the next workshop.
Flipcharts
You find Boards & Flipcharts in almost every conference and meeting room. Flip charts are a fantastic way of leeting something come into being in front of the eyes of the audience. With a little knowledge and preparation there are many more creative ways of using flip charts.
Different kind of flip charts are available.
- on three legs
- on roles
- hanging
- self-adhesive
And they come with more options and in different qualities.
Projectors
Death by PowerPoint is a proven and useful way to kill your participants. Since the 1980s this form of homocide became quite widespread – though still not punishable by law. Here we talk of the weapons of your choice.
Fixed at your meeting room’s ceiling or mobile devices. The main differences to judge a projector are
- Light intensity
- Lense
- Noise
- Connectivity
- Size & Handling
Slicky Notes
Self-adhesive cards, mostly known by their brandname, Slicky Notes (though other manufacturers exist) are a flexible and lightweight alternative to boards & flipcharts. You just need a pack of those and you can work practically everywhere. On glass windows, walls, doors, etc. And you are not limited by the board or flip chart size.
However, glueing, multicoloring, and different other techniques are not possible. But for the metaplan or card technique, for brainstorming of ideas – especially in the form of brainwalking – and clustering they are just perfect.