1 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions

www.avispl.com (+01).866.559.8197

An AVI-SPL Tech Guide

2 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

Today’s world is fast-paced, and innovative products seem to pop up every day. Education has also evolved rapidly in the past few years, and technology plays a large role in these changes. So much information comes at students from so many angles that identifying and absorbing the valuable parts of that information is more difficult than ever before.

Technology has evolved, and so have the methods students use to learn. More people than ever are connecting to educators and taking classes remotely. While some of these solutions are fantastic and offer a great way for students to telecommute, there are others plagued with problems. Students and instructors shouldn’t have to squander their education time learning a new interface or device or troubleshooting issues.

Barco has created the Collaborative Learning Platform along with several other technologies to offer today’s students more engaging learning tools they can use on their own devices. Teachers can conduct lectures, assign coursework, address individual students’ needs, and display content in a variety of ways – all from whichever device they prefer to use.

When educational services are IT-Centric from the get-go, everyone wins – students, educators, and IT departments. Solutions that embrace these practices early mean less security hassles IT must manage. Students and administrators can be more free to incorporate technology into their lessons without fear of breaches.

Table of Contents

3 The Collaborative Learning Platform

3 Interactive Tools for Teachers

4 Giving Benefits to Students

5 Case Studies: Success with Barco’s Solutions

6 Practical Benefits from Barco Solutions

7 Innovating for the Evolving Classroom

8 Embracing BYOD and the New Classroom

10 About AVI-SPL

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3 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

The Collaborative Learning PlatformUsing a wide array of information exchange tools and a focus on connectivity and interactivity, the Collaborative Learning Platform is designed with modern students in mind – students who have grown up with mobile technology and absorb information through them quickly. These students are entering a very different working world than their parents’, and new educational methods will prepare them for the digital age.

Many educational organizations have enacted bring your own device (BYOD) policies: some high schools supply notebook computers to students; others allow students to bring their own tablets and laptops to supplement classroom instruction. The inherent worry associated with these programs is that students will use them for things other than coursework, and their devices will become distractions instead of learning tools. Barco’s Collaborative Learning Platform is built on usability. By using a device that the students are familiar and comfortable with, they can quickly interact with lesson plans and absorb vital information.

Interactive Tools for Teachers

Today’s teachers face innumerable challenges, from managing remote students and crafting individualized learning plans, to adopting and learning new technologies. It’s vital for teachers to have tools available for making learning a more cohesive and less frustrating process. New technologies usually require some learning curve on the part of the instructors. Teachers must learn how to use new applications, software, and other tech – as well as how to address the inevitable issues students will have with those technologies.

• The tools are easy to learn. Teachers enjoy the same user experience in every room, so there’s no need to learn multiple custom interfaces. Students and teachers access the same type of interface with customized features for both.

• The platform is easy to operate. An intuitive user interface means teachers can see every connected display and source. This equals less time spent hunting through vague icons and buttons to find the correct tools.

• Platform gives teachers complete control. Teachers are in full control of the learning experience with easy-to-learn content-moderation tools, keeping classes on task with enriching content and fewer distractions.

• Platform works with all devices. Teachers can operate the control interface on any device and present content on any connected display. There’s no need to invest in specialized electronics or learn how to use a new piece of tech. BYOD means everyone can use their everyday devices for coursework.

The Collaborative Learning Platform aims to offer the lowest possible learning curve for both teachers and students.

4 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

• Tool capability generates enthusiasm. Interactive capabilities allow students to directly engage with a lecture or lesson. Students are more likely to absorb and retain information when a teacher presents it in a familiar, digestible, and engaging format.

• Barco future-proofs learning tools. Education is constantly evolving, and solutions from Barco allow teachers to develop new methods of instruction and easily address different students’ learning styles.

Immersion is an incredibly valuable teaching tool. When learning experiences are dynamic and engaging, students absorb more of the lesson and gain greater understanding of their coursework. We built Barco’s Collaborative Learning Platform to provide more engaging virtual learning experiences that leverage technology as a powerful learning tool.

Giving Benefits to Students

Although educators often regard technology (especially mobile devices) as a distraction in the classroom, students today grew up using mobile devices. By leveraging their ability to use mobile devices, educators can provide engaging course material on a familiar interface. Students benefit from Barco’s Collaborative Learning Platform in several ways:

• Individualized support. Every student has strengths and weaknesses, and the Collaborative Learning Platform allows them to ask private questions about a lesson and adapt to new material using a familiar device.

• Shareable content. Students can easily work in groups, complete projects with classmates remotely, and communicate with teachers more easily through an intuitive platform. Barco solutions eliminate compatibility issues between file types and different devices.

• Interactive learning tools. Teachers can provide students with feedback tools such as surveys, polls, and comment sections. Students can also take quizzes on their individual devices as the teacher conducts a lecture.

• Advanced note taking. Capture screenshots, make notes in presentation materials, and type notes quickly and easily – all on the same familiar device. Most students favor keyboards over notebooks, and Barco solutions allow them to pull pertinent information from lesson materials quickly and easily.

5 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

• Immersive, engaging lessons. Students retain more information when they’re interested in their work. The Collaborative Learning Platform leverages technology as a way to create more dynamic and engaging learning experiences.

The classroom isn’t the only thing changing – the way students approach their educational careers is changing, too. Leveraging technology as a means of embracing new learning methods is a great way to reach students on an individual level, meaning education becomes student-focused.

Case Studies: Success with Barco’s Solutions Barco’s has already established a record of success at several notable institutions for a variety of uses:

The University of Toledo IISC The University of Toledo’s Inter-professional Immersive Simulation Center (UT-IISC) grew from a desire to offer immersive virtual experiences tailored to students. At the UT-IISC, students gain practical experience in the medical field with clinical practice and tools for easier advanced medical research.

The UT-IISC created an intelligent building utilizing advanced visualization and display technology. In this space, students can experience a 3D and Virtual Immersive Reality Center on the first floor – a “holodeck-style” learning environment that displays information on the floor, ceiling, and three walls. Students can also experience the CAD wall – an enormous, curved 3D display for up to 30 students at once, who use 3D glasses for individual views.

The UT-IISC second floor houses an Advanced Clinical Simulation Center, and the Progressive Anatomy & Surgical Skills Center takes up the third floor. Teachers can display content on any visualization surface in the building with any device. Digital signage and advanced video displays are scattered throughout the building for wayfinding and streaming information to various parts of the building.

The FIU Interactive ClassroomAt Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, educators didn’t just want to eschew the traditional teacher-led classroom style – they wanted to completely flip it on its head and create a student-centered classroom.

Moving away from the typical lecture-style classroom meant embracing an interactive, student-led approach. Students complete any assigned work individually at home

6 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

before class, and the classroom serves as a platform to discuss the work and share what they’ve learned.

FIU also offers coursework for students studying remotely. Barco’s solutions offer them the chance to have the same interaction with teachers and engaging coursework as their local peers. The students sitting in the classroom see the same displays on their devices as the students hundreds of miles away, and every student has the ability to participate in discussions, offer their thoughts on lesson plans, and have individualized attention from instructors.

Data Analysis at Rice UniversityRice University recently undertook an extremely ambitious data analysis project known as DAVinCI: The Data Analysis and Visualization Cyber-Infrastructure project. In order to understand miniscule objects such as molecular compounds, nanotubes, and astrophysical concepts, a new type of display was necessary.

Presentations in three dimensions, interactive displays, and the ability to manipulate virtual objects in physical spaces are invaluable assets. Rice University captured these tools and now uses Barco’s OLS-521 stereoscopic 3D video wall. This 14-foot wide, 8-foot tall display features 33 million pixels for outstanding visual fidelity and clarity. Students can project data onto the wall to create renderings of real objects in a virtual space. Optical tracking systems allow them to interact with the projected data.

These are just a few of the ways Barco solutions enable more immersive learning paths and more collaborative spaces. Modern educational facilities are incorporating more technology than ever, and Barco aims to be a leader in creative collaborative virtual spaces for more advanced individualized learning.

Practical Benefits from Barco SolutionsBarco’s Collaborative Learning Platform doesn’t just benefit students and teachers. Educational facilities are evolving with technology at the forefront, and facility managers gain several practical advantages from adopting Barco solutions:

• Device management. The Collaborative Learning Platform embraces a full BYOD strategy, meaning there is no need to supply devices to students. Students use the devices they know, eliminating many IT worries and troubleshooting issues.

• Cohesion with legacy systems. Barco solutions can completely integrate with campus networks and hardware.

7 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

• Standardized education. Workflows and interfaces are constant in every room of a facility. Students won’t have to learn new devices and applications for every course.

• Minimized need for IT support. Less equipment in the classroom means less need for specialized support. This results in less time spent troubleshooting and more time for immersive instruction.

• In-house networking. Networking structures for Barco solutions can be either cloud-based or locally housed.

• Overflow support. The Collaborative Learning Platform is inherently prepared to accommodate remote access, meaning classroom overflow isn’t as much of a frustration, since students can participate in coursework from anywhere.

• Remote IT access. Barco solutions are equipped to accommodate remote control when IT support issues arise.

Barco solutions enable educators to create customized lesson plans and teaching tools for any type of educational setting. Layers of interactivity can augment the traditional lecture-style classroom setting: BYOD support means students can use their own connected devices to participate in lesson plans, while the instructor retains complete moderation control of classroom content and learning resources.

Innovating for the Evolving Classroom Moving forward, learning will continue to focus on innovation, accessibility, cooperation, and students’ physical environments. In that spirit, Barco sets itself on the cutting-edge of the evolving classroom. This is done not only through the solutions mentioned above, but also through a variety of tools and technologies that immerse learners and teachers in a seamless, collaborative atmosphere. These include:

• WeConnect. You’ve read about BYOD, but enabling students to work on their own devices is only one step of a truly collaborative classroom. Through Barco’s WeConnect Lecture Hall and Network Integration, students can incorporate a majority of their devices under a simple interface that the teacher controls. Inventory plans can be shared, questions can be asked and answered, and results can be displayed—all on students’ devices, and all in an uninterrupted flash.

• X20. Of course, with so many devices being added to the classroom, the only way to stay on the same page is to stay organized. The X20 platform facilitates this through connected desktops, allowing students and teachers to effortlessly publish

8 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

information that is then easily shared and delivered to the right screens at the right times. Communication networks and shared desktops can be flawlessly set up, creating a modern and articulate classroom.

• Real-Time, Immersive Solutions. One aspect of learning that some technology ignores is how much better it is when people learn together. With real-time video, students connect in actual time with instructors and other students, creating an atmosphere of engagement.

We also know that the best learning environments tap into all of our senses. Though immersive classrooms largely focus on handheld devices and micro experiences, big screens and big sounds sometimes have a better effect. This is why we also offer immersive audio (natural, 3D acoustic simulation) and world-class cinema projection to capture and hold viewer attention. These solutions are cost effective, and they virtually guarantee that students will not forget what they experience.

Embracing BYOD and the New Classroom Barco solutions are for much more than providing a platform for sharing visual materials and making note-taking easier. With seamless BYOD support for a customized application, teachers are no longer limited to the traditional lecture-style classroom, and students have access to a more robust learning environment. The Barco Collaborative Learning Platform integrates classroom displays and connected devices and embeds them in your network, so students can connect to classes from anywhere.

This new type of learning experience offers students the ability to learn more comfortably and share their resources with peers. Fostering collaborative efforts in the educational realm is indicative of the new workplace – more of today’s employees are choosing to work remotely and on-the-go, so having this experience earlier in the classroom makes adapting to modern work styles part of the educational process. Students learn their trades and hone their skills while adapting to new ways of sharing ideas and connecting with peers.

Embracing BYOD means students can engage with their own devices and still collaborate and share content. When students use their own devices – devices which they are extremely familiar with – one step of difficulty is removed, and learning becomes seamless. BYOD in the new classroom is effective for:

• Traditional Classrooms. Students can engage and share content wirelessly. • Auditoriums or Large Classrooms. Devices can be connected to instructor

9 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

technology. Students can have actual engagement with instructors regardless of class size – all wirelessly.

• Small Spaces/Pods. Students in small pods or smaller spaces have the same freedom to connect as those in larger areas or bigger classes.

Virtual and augmented reality technology is making huge waves in the business, marketing, and entertainment industries, but these technological advances present huge opportunities to the world of education. Using advanced forms of visualization, educators can offer more robust, hands-on, practical skill-building activities. Students today will enter the workforce with far more hands-on experience than previous generations. But learning doesn’t have to be relegated to the classroom. With the proper security of content, education can meet the students where they are. Roadmap provides technology that enables both virtual and remote classrooms.

Training simulations and working in 3D spaces for research and development are becoming increasingly common sights, and we geared the Collaborative Learning Platform for preparing today’s students to handle these tools in the working world. With advanced visualization technology, an intuitive application platform, BYOD functionality, and seamless collaboration regardless of physical location, Barco solutions are helping prepare a new generation for the digital age.

10 Tech Guide: Creating Interactive Learning Experiences Utilizing Barco’s Solutions (+01).866.559.8197 www.avispl.com

About AVI-SPLFrom primary schools to colleges and universities, AVI-SPL implements video collaboration and interactive learning solutions that connect students and teachers from around the world, and improve educational outcomes. Our services include the design, implementation, and support of systems like content-sharing solutions, interactive whiteboards, active learning classrooms, and digital signage, as well as grant applications, procurement contract assistance.

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About BarcoBarco’s interactive classroom solutions offers a unique learning experience for remote and on-campus students. It allows participants worldwide to interact in real time with one another and with the teacher, as if they were all in one classroom.

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