Using a computer with a projector in the classroom opens lots of possibilities of different things you can do with a class. Making the lesson interactive can be a bit more difficult. If you have an interactive whiteboard then that is made easier as students can come to the front and interact with the computer in a way that is visible to the whole class. Another way that students can interact with what they are seeing is with a wireless keyboard that can be passed around the room.

By using a wireless keyboard the students can type into whatever program you are using (not so easy to do on a whiteboard) and so they can answer questions or input information. A pupil could be making notes of what is being said in a class discussion, or they could be typing into a mind map while ideas are coming from the rest of the class. Having a pupil do this gets them involved and allows the teacher to be concentrating on the class rather than typing.

As well as being useful for passing around for pupils to use, small wireless keyboards can be easily held and used by the teacher while standing in front of the class or walking around. This saves you from being tied to the desk peering over your laptop.

Unfortunately the sort of wireless keyboards that many people have for use with their desktop computers usually only have a range of about 1 metre and so aren’t much use in the classroom. Instead look for one of the models that use a better wireless connection and can work up to 10 metres from the computer. Many of these models come with some sort of mouse control integrated with the laptop. This could be a track pad like those found on most laptops, a trackball or a joystick of some kind. The keyboards come with a small receiver that plugs into and is powered by a USB port on the computer and the keyboards require batteries.

The keyboard that I use is made by Keysonic and includes a track pad with two mouse buttons and a strip for scrolling in webpages. It is small enough to hold in one hand and type with the other (for short periods) and has a full set of keys, although some of them especially the enter key are a bit small. It doesn’t have a separate keypad, but like many laptops has one that shares keys with other functions and can be toggled on and off.

This keyboard currently costs just under £30 from Amazon with free delivery.