Can Multiple Students Write on an IFP Together?

Afternoon sunlight streams through the classroom windows. A few children gather around the interactive flat panel — some on tiptoes, carefully dragging a brush across the screen. Others reach out with small hands, piecing shapes together. Fingertips glide across the glass, and colors spread like imagination painted across the sky.

No tense classroom atmosphere. Just quiet laughter and the occasional gasp of surprise. The teacher stands to the side. No heavy instruction. Just a light nudge at the right moment, leaving space for the children to explore on their own, to make mistakes, to finish something that belongs to them.

This scene doesn't need imagination. In plenty of kindergarten and primary school classrooms, there's never just one child standing in front of the panel. But there's a question many teachers ask before purchasing: how many students can write on this screen at the same time? Let's take a look.

What Are Touch Points — What Do 20 and 40 Points Actually Mean?

Following from that question — how many students can write together? This comes down to how many touch points the panel supports.

So what are touch points exactly? Touch points refer to the number of independent contact points the screen can recognize at the same time. Essentially, it's how many separate touch inputs the system can track simultaneously.

Put simply: 20 points means the screen can recognize 20 fingers at once — enough for three to five children to gather around, writing and drawing without getting in each other's way. 40 points doubles that. It's suited for whole-class group interaction, where multiple groups can work on the same screen at the same time without fighting over the pen or freezing each other out. But here's something not to mix up: more points doesn't mean "more responsive." One person's writing speed isn't affected by the touch point count. The point count means one thing only — when more people use the screen together, everyone writes on their own, and no one pushes anyone else aside.
(Want to learn more about viewing angle, response speed, and touch delay? Check out our three earlier articles: Viewing Angle / Response Speed / Touch Delay. Especially viewing angle — in a classroom, kids sit spread out. Whether the side seats can see the screen clearly directly determines whether they stay engaged.)

How Many Touch Points Does Your Classroom Actually Need? — More Isn't Always Better

It might seem like more points are always better. But do you really need that many? If not, there's no reason to pay for points you'll never use — and the money saved can go toward things you actually need.

Touch points can be understood like this: if it's mostly the teacher lecturing, with one or two students coming up now and then, 10 points is enough. If small groups are doing tasks — three to five kids writing, drawing, and dragging content on the screen at the same time — 20 points will run smoother. In a more open classroom, where multiple groups or even many students participate and interact on the same screen simultaneously, 40 points is steadier. No one grabbing the pen. No one freezing up. At its core, it's not about "how advanced the technology is." It's about "how many kids can join in at once without things falling apart."

What Else Matters Besides Touch Points

If you want multiple people writing at once and a good experience doing it, touch points are the entry ticket. But there are three other things. They might not appear on the spec sheet, and in real use, they affect the experience more than the point count.

First: count people.

Bring two other people with you. Stand in front of the screen together. All three of you draw circles at the same time. Not taking turns — simultaneously. After, look at the screen. Are all three circles there? Did anyone's circle get swallowed or broken?

This is the most direct test. If it can't even handle three people drawing circles together, those twenty points are just ink on paper.

Second: switch colors.

Each person picks a different color — red, blue, green. Write your names at the same time. After, check the screen. Are the names still in their own colors? Did one person's stroke suddenly turn into someone else's color?
If it can't even keep colors separate, the software never actually turned on multi-user mode. Point count means nothing.

Third: press down on purpose.

While writing, rest your palm naturally on the screen — just like you would on paper. See if the system draws a stray line from your palm edge.
Testing with one person is easy. Two people writing at once, both pressing their palms down — that's the real test. A machine with weak palm rejection will fall apart right here.

All three tests take less than five minutes. Do them, and you'll know: can this machine actually handle a group of kids crowding around it in a real classroom?

Let's go back to that opening scene. Afternoon light. A few children gathered at the panel, small hands sliding across the screen together. No queue. No waiting.

This isn't some high-end configuration reserved for premium setups. Touch points dialed in right. Screen big enough. Software running multi-user mode. Palm rejection keeping things clean. Four things in place, and collaboration in the classroom just happens naturally.

When LonTon configures machines for schools, the test isn't "can it register the 40th point." It's three children writing their names at the same time — can the colors stay separate, do the palms cause stray marks, is there enough screen space for everyone to stand. What actually happens in a real classroom — that's our testing standard.

The content on the screen keeps changing. And the children in front of it — they're slowly learning to communicate, to collaborate, to express themselves. Sunlight on their faces. In that moment, the technology is just the medium. What's truly amplified is their joy and their focus, together.

So —

⦁Want to see classroom-wide configuration options? Check out [Smart Classroom Solutions]. One screen can do more than you think.

Not sure what screen size and how many touch points fit your classroom size and student age? Click the button at the bottom right. Tell us about your classroom. We'll help you match the right setup.