School Spirit
Whether learning in person or from afar, digital tools are replacing analogue to shape the contemporary classroom experience. We explore how education is evolving, made better by the latest and greatest in AV tech
Words Katie Kasperson
Four years ago, education looked a whole lot different.
The pandemic forced us into isolation, with schools and universities closing their doors and classes shifting to entirely online.
This era, while short-lived, changed our education systems – arguably for the better.
Now, many institutions offer blended learning models relying on digital technologies to enhance both in-person and remote instruction, making modern education more convenient, effective and immersive.
Pandemics aside, education has always been evolving, incorporating various tools and technologies to better prepare students for work and life.
The advent of computers brought a plethora of opportunities – from browsing the internet for scholarly articles or writing essays more efficiently, to enabling students to email their instructors or learning programming languages.
Similarly, audio-visual (AV) systems introduced school-wide announcements over intercom, student-led TV and radio, plus other AV-based extracurriculars.
In short, technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is not a new phenomenon, though in today’s digital era, there’s a wider range of devices than ever before.
Educational environments are seeing traditional tools like pencils, rulers and written exams replaced by tablets, Smart Boards and e-textbooks, all intended to enhance the academic experience in one way or another. The tools used largely depend on the learning format.
At-home academics
Though online courses have existed for some time, it wasn’t until the pandemic that remote learning truly took off.
Likely here to stay, institutions have adopted a hybrid approach to education, blending the appeal of a live seminar with the flexibility of attending class from any convenient location.
Video conferencing tools have been essential in delivering remote courses and evolving to meet the needs of both students and teachers alike.
Zoom is a prime example of this, offering video calls with its screen-sharing capabilities, breakout rooms for group discussions, chat functionality and much more.
While it revolutionised remote education, Zoom also enables a hybrid model, allowing teachers to address attendees both in-person and online – for example, to assist a student who has an illness or to deliver a course to two cohorts based in separate locations.
The video platform also allows lecturers to record their sessions, so students can revisit a particular lesson when revising for an exam.
Other platforms, such as Google Classroom and Intelligent Video Solutions, offer similar products supporting a blended educational approach.
With Google Classroom, students can access, collaborate on and submit assignments in one place.
They can also organise documents in Google Drive, view their schedules on Google Calendar and communicate via Gmail and Google Meet. They can do almost everything within Google’s toolkit.
Intelligent Video Solutions’ Video Audio Learning Tool (VALT) can both livestream and record AV content with cameras of up to 4K resolution at the same time, including PTZs.
VALT also supports camera grouping and screen capturing as well as pre-scheduling recordings, making it suited to courses with multiple sessions.
Its Beam solution integrates with VALT, allowing presenters to capture and upload content from any location using an iOS device.
Headsets-on learning
While not as commonly adopted (yet), VR headsets are making their way into education, providing students with an immersive learning experience – also accessible from anywhere with a stable connection.
VR can fully transform an isolated educational environment into a social one, bringing literal meaning to experiential learning.
It can also be useful in specific disciplines requiring intensive training, such as in medical fields.
That said, students of any subject can benefit; artists can visit virtual galleries, historians can travel back in time and biologists can interact with species from any ecosystem of their choosing.
As VR increases in popularity, new products will continue to pop up.
The headsets currently in circulation vary in price, comfort and AV quality; among them are the ClassVR, Meta Quest 2 and Destek V5 VR headsets.
Designed specifically for the education sector, the ClassVR headsets come in standard (16GB) and premium (64GB), with ClassVR’s own portal containing thousands of VR resources.
These consist of lesson plans, how-to guides, as well as a library of immersive content.
The Meta Quest 2 is a well-established wearable featuring great graphics and cinematic audio, while the Destek V5s are an affordable yet effective option.
VR has the potential to transform education, but as with any technology, there are challenges – the first of which is financial access.
Headsets can be expensive (the Meta Quest 2 starts at £199.99), making them a considerable investment for educational institutions – which are generally lacking in budget.
The second challenge is the availability of reliable internet with remote learning, as not all students share the same at-home set-up.
Those issues aside, video-based remote learning and VR are two modern examples of TEL’s capability of providing convenience without sacrificing the core value of education.
Intelligent instruction
Despite an increase in hybridisation, brick-and-mortar education institutions remain the norm.
These learning spaces provide students and instructors crucial social and academic opportunities, bolstered by technology most people don’t have at home.
At the heart of almost any classroom is the board, allowing teachers to enhance presentations with a handy visual aid.
Over decades, its appearance has shifted somewhat, with chalkboards becoming white boards, and then white boards becoming Smart Boards (manufactured by Smart Technologies).
The modern Smart Board is interactive and intelligent, acting as a wall-sized display allowing users to touch, type, write and erase whatever’s on-screen – whether it’s a plain backdrop, PDF or PNG.
Smart Boards integrate with classroom technologies, with the option of mirrored display on students’ individual devices.
They also support screen capture and saving, so no activity or insight is lost – even after clearing up for the next lesson. The Smart Board is easy to use, giving teachers extra time for planning and grading, with the added benefit of a more dynamic, engaging experience.
Throws and slide shows
Like the board, projectors have come a long way. Slide projectors dominated the late 20th century (hence the term ‘slide show’ as a synonym for presentation), having since been largely replaced by video projectors.
There are many elements to projectors worth noting, from image resolution and contrast ratio to brightness, lamp life and connectivity.
Concerning educational environments, the best projector might depend on the classroom’s size, the distance between the projector and the screen (also known as throw), as well as ambient light levels.
Optoma, Epson and Viewsonic offer a range of projectors suited to various academic spaces.
In smaller classrooms, the Optoma GT2100HDR excels, offering portability and a short-throw lens.
For larger rooms, the brand’s HD146X model may be a better choice, though it works well in almost any environment.
If a school’s budget can be stretched, then Epson’s Pro EX9240 is a winner, boasting high image quality at Full HD (1080p), while Viewsonic’s PX748-4K offers UHD – ideal for visual subjects like art, history, film or photography. While most modern projectors come with built-in speakers, it’s worth checking for an audio output if sound is a key concern.
Audio-visual aid
Installing an up-to-date AV system can be an huge undertaking; thankfully, companies such as Genelec, Definition Audio Visual and D&A Media specialise in just that.
Genelec, which primarily creates loudspeakers, covers the audio in AV, delivering solutions to classrooms, lecture halls, studios and theatres.
Its speakers are easy to install, promising crisp audio to fill an entire auditorium without relying on external amplifiers. Useful for audio engineering and music production, Genelec empowers students to learn by listening.
Definition and D&A Media cover both the audio and visual, offering AV system installation for stage performances and large-screen projections, digital signage, interactive white boards and video conferencing tools, as well as school-wide sound systems for announcements via PA.
Their solutions are customisable, meeting the needs of any school, college or university – bridging the gap between analogue and digital within education.
Inclusive education
AV technology is seeing a growing number of applications in education, from video conferencing and projection to virtual and interactive environments.
Though TEL undoubtedly comes with various benefits – flexibility, engagement and efficiency for teachers and learners – it also faces potential obstacles en route to ensuring inclusivity.
Student wellbeing should always be a key consideration, and not all students are alike.
They often come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, have distinct learning styles and vary in ability. To truly transform education, technology should cater to all students – and take accessibility into account.
Transcription and captioning services are paramount for students with AV impairments.
For instance, platforms such as Amberscript and Rev rely on AI to deliver accurate transcriptions and captions in multiple languages.
Similarly, speech-to-text software can aid students who struggle with reading and writing.
With this in mind, Dragon (by Nuance) enables students to express themselves through speech, with software reciting their work aloud rather than needing to be proofread.
AV technology can significantly enhance education for everyone by making it more enjoyable, engaging and inclusive.
Thanks in large part to the pandemic, blended formats have proven their benefits to both students and instructors, while the latest technologies such as VR headsets offer an added level of immersion.
As more AV tools hit the market, educators should consider how these solutions can facilitate the best possible academic outcomes and prepare future generations for life beyond the classroom.
This feature was first published in the Summer 2024 issue of LIVE.
