Case Studies

In the construction industry, almost every project is like a massive jigsaw puzzle with hundreds of moving parts that require careful coordination—and multiple teams working together to keep projects on track.

It’s an environment where daily meetings are essential. And companies are constantly looking for the right meeting tools to enable better face-to-face and remote collaboration, cut down on wasted time, and increase employee satisfaction and productivity.

These goals were certainly all top-of-mind for the leaders at JE Dunn Construction, a large commercial general contractor based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1924, the family- and employee-owned company has 21 offices across the U.S. and offers construction services for a wide range of needs—from hospitals and schools, to high-rise apartments and office buildings.

To keep its many projects running smoothly, JE Dunn depends upon its Dunn Dashboards (project-specific collaboration websites) to be a central hub for plans, drawings, specs, and other details. However, keeping these sites up-to-date was often a challenge. If team members gathered in a conference room, ideas were typically jotted down on an erasable whiteboard or notepad. Then, someone would have to manually add these notes to the Dunn Dashboard, so team members in the office and out on the jobsite could view all the same information in real time.

“When you have people working in silos, there’s always something that gets left out,” says AJ Bloomquist, site systems manager at JE Dunn. “So, if you get everyone working together in the same spot, you can alleviate a lot of that confusion.”

As a rule, JE Dunn encourages on-the-spot team meetings to allow for faster decision making. But even when changes were being marked up in the company’s construction software (rather than on a notepad or whiteboard), the process was often inconsistent. Typically, one person would access a document from the Dunn Dashboard, and then share their screen to a TV display. People would then take turns getting up to mark their changes on the presenting computer.

Then, JE Dunn rolled out the 65″ 4K ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Display with myViewBoard™ collaboration software—an all-in-one collaboration hub that’s literally on wheels, so it can turn any open area into an optimized meeting space. The ViewBoard display comes with a built-in camera for video conferencing, enterprise-level security, integrated access to cloud storage, digital whiteboarding and annotation, multicasting, and other advanced features to boost communication and collaboration across project teams.

“We’re always looking for something that’s going to make our lives easier and more efficient,” says Bloomquist. “The interactive capabilities of the ViewBoard display are really a big win.”

BUILDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION

In the fast-paced world of construction, collaboration is critical every step of the way. “We have to be able to collaborate and communicate with each other about all kinds of issues. And you usually have multiple people working together on a jobsite, so being able to communicate effectively to everybody at one time is key to your success,” says Rachel Delino, senior project engineer at JE Dunn.

In fact, JE Dunn focuses on bringing together all project stakeholders (owners, architects, engineers, general contractors, and trade partners) to develop better solutions. The company recognizes that each stakeholder looks at an issue with a different perspective, and the real value comes from bringing all those perspectives together to create a successful solution. Now, the ViewBoard display is making it even easier to deliver on this core mission.

“We all have to work together to meet the end-goal of building a project that’s going to get completed on time, stay on budget, and make the owner happy,” says Delino. “The ViewBoard display makes it faster for us to discuss an issue, come up with a resolution, capture what we’ve discussed, and easily broadcast it out to whoever needs the information.”

Now with the ViewBoard display, team members at JE Dunn can write notes, sketch ideas, and markup drawings on the touchscreen display, using their fingers and styluses. Content is then saved to the cloud for easy retrieval.

What’s more, the ViewBoard display supports a full range of end-user devices, including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, and Android devices. JE Dunn meeting participants can cast from their iPhones, Android phones, tablets, or laptops without worrying about dongles or connecting to projectors. The variety of tools for displaying, sharing, and saving media allows project teams to collaborate in new ways. And since the ViewBoard display is mobile, the benefits extend across the office.

“We love that the ViewBoard display is on wheels, so we can move it to whatever room is the most convenient,” says Delino. “People can easily gather around it, discuss issues, and come up with solutions quickly. It really encourages everybody to stand there and work together.”

TAKING PRODUCTIVITY TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

The ViewBoard display also supports the “lean” mindset at JE Dunn— that is, the business approach of continually refining processes to be more streamlined and more efficient. ViewBoard display users save time by managing all their meeting-related tasks in one place, resulting in less duplicated work. They also spend less meeting time dealing with the technical issues of connecting multiple systems and devices.

According to Bloomquist, the site systems manager, the ViewBoard display was easy to use right from the start. Employees are already used to working with touchscreens on their smartphones or tablets, so the learning curve was short.

In addition, the ViewBoard display provides native access to JE Dunn’s construction project software, along with network access for sharing and storing content. This way, team members can use the software they’re already familiar with, enabling them to be more productive and focused on the work that drives the business. Whether they need to work with drawings, requests for information, or owner’s manuals at project completion, the markup process is hassle-free.

“Everybody who works here is familiar with the software, so being able to use it on the ViewBoard display has been a seamless transition,” says Delino. “It’s easy for people to do their markups because they are already used to the interface.”

Team members can:

• Pull up 3D models on the touchscreen display
• Rotate the models to examine different details
• Use the writing and drawing tools to mark up any changes

CHANGING THE CONSTRUCTION GAME

According to Delino, the ViewBoard display has been a “big game-changer.” JE Dunn’s project teams are using the ViewBoard display to explore more high-tech collaboration—and removing the unnecessary processes that can slow down a project.

For example, team members can pull up 3D models on the touch- screen display, rotate the models to examine different details, and use the writing and drawing tools to mark up any changes. Eventually, the myViewBoard software could be used for collaboration with remote team members, enabling more efficient sharing of ideas from virtually anywhere.

“For the construction office, it’s been really nice for our estimating staff or quality control staff to group around the display and look at a detail,” says Delino. “But on the jobsite, I could see it being very beneficial to help coordinate between the trade partners doing the work, the general contractor that’s overseeing the work, and the architect designing the work.”

With more than 20 years at JE Dunn—about 17 years as a project manager and the rest as site systems manager—Bloomquist has seen his share of tools deployed in the construction company. When it comes to the ViewBoard display, he says he’s been really impressed.

“The versatility of the ViewBoard display is very important,” says Bloomquist. “Everybody has different types of devices, different types of computers, different everything. The ViewBoard display works with them all, making it an easy tool for anybody to use and to incorporate into their business practices.”

Learn more about ViewSonic ViewBoard displays and myViewBoard software today.

Too many companies underequip their conference rooms with outdated gear, requiring extra labor to prepare illustrations and ideas for sharing, sloppy scribbles on an erasable whiteboard, and painstaking notetaking by participants.

In these underequipped rooms, a videoconference means co-workers huddled around a monitor, looking over each other’s shoulders, writing down notes, and interjecting comments during pauses in the conversation—comments that are often incoherent because of the computer’s weak mic.

That was certainly the case at ATech Training Inc. in Walton, Kentucky, which builds automotive training aids—everything from cars with common real-world faults to cars cut in half for examination—for schools and corporations to train technicians.

ATech is on the cutting edge with its teaching tools, but its tools for employee collaboration were lacking, says Brian Jenkins, ATech’s network administrator and one-man IT team for the small company.

For onsite meetings, employees had to congregate in a dreary, gray-walled meeting room and use an old-school projector that took 10 minutes to heat up, then overheated so that the person sitting next to it had to be careful not to get burned. It wasn’t a room employees were excited about going into, and it didn’t foster productive collaboration; people had to print out illustrations that frequently appeared blurry through the projector, and take individual notes for sharing later. They’d have to reconvene hours or days later to review what they’d previously gone over to make sure everyone was on the same page.

When talking with offsite employees like software developers and the sales reps in Puerto Rico, employees had to huddle around a single computer with a scrawny camera for a video conference. “We’d have to turn the computer so the person on the other end could see who was talking,” Jenkins says.

“For 11 years, a conference room refresh had been at the top of my list, but I kept getting shot down as other priorities superseded it,” he says.

Then ATech won a 65” 4K ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Display in a Spiceworks “Conference Room Makeover” contest, complete with wall mount, slot-in PC for advanced functionality, and Logitech Rally Camera for video  conferencing. The ViewBoard display includes the cloud-based myViewBoard™ software, enterprise-level security, cloud storage, digital whiteboarding and annotation, multicasting, and other advanced features to boost communication and collaboration among team members.

“When I got the email saying I’d won, I jumped out of my chair,” Jenkins says. “I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.”

FINDING A NEW LEVEL OF COLLABORATION

Even in his low-tech offices, installing the new high-tech ViewBoard display was simple. “I loved it because I didn’t have to touch anything. I helped push it into the room, and that’s as far as I got with it. It was that simple.”

The ViewSonic support team was fantastic in helping to prepare it for use, even troubleshooting an ATech licensing issue, Jenkins says. “Their support team was above and beyond anything we expected.”

In just two days, they were already using it for meetings. Anytime a new technology comes along, it’s natural to wonder if it will be difficult to use and if it will really work for you, Jenkins says. But the ViewBoard display isn’t scary or hard to use. “Anybody can walk right up to it, connect to it, project to it, and continue on.”

The ViewBoard display supports a full range of end-user devices, including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, and Android devices. Users can cast from iPhones, Android phones, tablets, or laptops, and they can save files to cloud storage. The variety of tools for displaying, sharing, and saving media allows teams to collaborate in new ways.

For example, the ATech sales team uses the ViewBoard display to combine schedules and upcoming travel itineraries on one screen during meetings, so they can see who will be where when. The fabrication and research and development departments use it to brainstorm ideas. Team members can envision an idea and put that idea directly up on the ViewBoard display for everyone to see. When someone writes a note on the board, it’s saved to a central location in the cloud for team members to retrieve. “Everybody’s not writing notes on a notepad or typing out their notes anymore,” Jenkins says.

“We’re able to get everybody together, put some pictures and examples of what we’re wanting to do on the board, and then collaborate all together right there for the first time,” he says.

When the developers were meeting to update company software, they beamed the current software directly to the ViewBoard display so that everyone in the room could comfortably see it.

“With the old projector, you could put your stuff on the projector and it would go up on the wall, but this board brings it to life,” Jenkins says. “Everything has a crisp, clear look.”

It works the other way, too: “You can write on the board and it reflects back on your devices, as well,” he says. “So if you have a bunch of people in the room, and some can’t see the board really well, they’ll be able to see it on their device.”

And because the meeting notes, slides, and illustrations save to the cloud, they’re accessible anywhere. “It doesn’t matter where we are. I can be traveling and upload something to share with our group here. We can do a video session or rep training from a customer site. It makes us feel like we’re still connected,” Jenkins says.

BREAKING THROUGH PRODUCTIVITY ROADBLOCKS

“The ViewBoard display has been a lifesaver,” Jenkins says. “It has helped us in so many ways.”

ViewBoard display users save time by managing all their meeting-related tasks in one place, resulting in less duplicated work. They also spend less time dealing with technical issues that arise from having to connect multiple systems and devices. As a result, ATech meetings are more focused and productive now.

“Any ideas or thoughts we have, we’re right there together,” Jenkins says. “Everybody’s able to view what we want to share and the ideas we want to get across without us having to print pictures or ideas, come back in two hours, and hash this out again. We’re able to get everything figured out right then and there.”

ATech uses the ViewBoard display for virtual meetings and training with clients as well as remote team members. Recently they used it for a video session to finally meet all of the sales reps in Puerto Rico.

“We’re able to connect with them so much better than over a phone call,” Jenkins says. “We felt like we were all together, even though we were in two different parts of the planet. It feels like we’re all one big team, no matter where we are.”

FACE-TO-FACE COLLABORATION, WITHOUT THE FACES BEING SO CLOSE TOGETHER

Collaboration has increased among all the departments. Where once employees avoided the conference room, now every department has a meeting several times a week.

“For the first time, everybody on the fabrication team was able to sit down instead of crowding around a computer monitor to share ideas,” Jenkins says. “It’s face-to-face, which is more meaningful, and everybody’s more relaxed. It just makes everything a little bit more easygoing, easy flowing.”

“Now we’re able to work together as a team to share ideas and focus on what we need to work on.”

And everyone feels included in the discussion, Jenkins says. “It’s important that we feel like we’re all in it together.”

THE COMPANY SHOWPIECE

“The ViewBoard display is a showpiece now,” he says. “For everybody who comes into the building, including clients, we highlight the conference room. ‘Look what we can do to help you out now! You may be in the office today, but we have other ways we can connect with you in the future!’”

ATech prides itself on being the leader and expert in the automotive training field. The ViewSonic ViewBoard display is another tool that helps its employees come together as a team to bring ideas to life— and even after the idea is brought to life, to continue to support and train customers, Jenkins says. “We are planning on using the ViewBoard display for webinars, training customers on our equipment, and other projects.”

He believes the ViewBoard display can become the showpiece in other organizations, as well. “ViewSonic has been awesome; its products are great. We use ViewSonic monitors, and we’ve always been a big fan of the company. The ViewBoard display has proven itself and its value.”

“If I tried to take it out of that conference room, I’d have an uprising on my hands. That’s how much our employees love the ViewBoard display.”

Learn more about ViewSonic ViewBoard displays and myViewBoard software today.

End-of-life was near. And that was a good thing. The Wilmington Area School District technology team was more than ready to part ways with their aging projector-based whiteboard systems. Maintenance and cost were the primary pain points. This time, they wanted an interactive system that didn’t rely on a projector or proprietary software.

“The number one reason we wanted to make a change came down to cost savings, along with wanting to avoid proprietary software,” said Matt Maine, district Technology Manager. “The cost of a new Promethean whiteboard plus the required projector exceeds the cost of a new ViewSonic ViewBoard display. Plus, the projectors need new lamps every year or two.”

It was time to make a plan for replacing their aging projector-based whiteboard systems.

Implementing the plan, however, had a bumpy start. The district’s first interactive displays turned out to be duds.

“We weren’t initially familiar with ViewSonic, and our first few displays were from another manufacturer,” said Maine. “It was a complete flop. We had tremendous issues with the product.”

Thankfully, they were able to negotiate a return. Then back to square one. This time, said Maine, the tech team performed intense due diligence, looking at hundreds of online reviews. From these, they chose to demo the ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP6550 65” interactive flat panel display with 4K Ultra HD resolution – an option their reseller, Connection, wholeheartedly agreed with.

“We brought the ViewSonic ViewBoard display in and tested it for several months,” said Maine. “We were very rigorous and it performed beautifully.”

Thoroughly pleased, the district put a new plan in place: Replace 20% of their aging projector-based systems each year with ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP6550 displays. Math and science classrooms were the fortunate first recipients in 2016. Next came the remainder of the elementary, middle and high school classrooms.

At 31+ ViewBoard IFPs installed and counting, teachers and tech staff alike continue to be more than satisfied. Improvements over the projector-based systems include better image quality, the freedom to use any content, and the virtual lack of maintenance.

“ViewBoard displays are rated for 50,000 hours of use,” said Maine. “I look forward to the nearly seven years of zero-cost maintenance!”

Thanks to the 4K Ultra HD resolution, Teachers and students benefit from vibrant, crystal-clear images and text.

“One of nicest things about the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays is the picture clarity compared to our projector-based systems,” said Bradi Rhoades, District Technology Coach. “Even though the screen size is smaller, students can see text in the back of the room more clearly. This allows teachers to get through more content more easily.”

While transitions are often difficult and time-consuming, this one wasn’t. Getting teachers up and running with the new interactive displays was amazingly easy, Maine said.

“ViewSonic came in and did some training for the teachers,” said Maine. “And we helped them get started. But mostly, they figure it out. Working with the ViewBoard displays is very easy and intuitive.”

Breaking free from the constraints of proprietary software lets teachers make the most of the ViewBoard displays’ robust interactive capabilities, Maine noted.

“The teachers love not being locked into the software like they were with the Promethean system,” said Maine. “They can use whatever they come up with to teach, with no constraints on their creativity. And, they’re no longer limited by the device, they can plug in almost any device and it will work with full touch functionality.”

ViewSonic vCast™ provided Wilmington teachers with even more added flexibility. Now, teachers can control and interact with the classroom display from their tablets while moving around the room. This capability was another big selling point for ViewSonic, noted Rhoades.

“vCast lets teachers move around the classroom while broadcasting from their device to the display,” said Maine. “For example, a math teacher can be in the back of the room working with students while also writing an example and sending it onto the ViewBoard display for everyone to see.”

One of the unique advantages offered by Hiperwall video wall software is the ability to scale to previously impossible proportions. Need a massive video wall with over 100 displays? With Hiperwall, no problem. The challenge? Demonstrating this capability to customers within the space constraints of Hiperwall’s modestly sized showroom.

“Many video wall companies have system limits to the number of displays you can use, typically maxing out at around 100 displays,” said Hiperwall product marketing manager, Jonathan Gieg. “We can go far beyond that, with no theoretical limit to what we can support. It’s easy to explain verbally, but much harder to show 400 displays in an average room.”

Nonetheless, Hiperwall was determined to develop an on-site demo wall to demonstrate their scalability. First, they concluded that a 9 x 4 wall was needed to meet their testing and demonstration needs. At nine panels wide and four panels deep (36 total displays), that’s 17,280 x 4,320 pixels – for a 74,649,600-pixel pallet – perfect for massive control room and digital signage applications.

Using typical 55-inch displays, Hiperwall would have needed a room nearly 40 ft. wide, with a ceiling height of at least 12 ft. Their showroom was considerably smaller.

The answer: build a small-scale model with 24” displays to simulate a  massive wall in a small space. To develop this model, Hiperwall needed displays that offered compact size, narrow bezels and essential connectivity features.

“While there are many large format video wall displays available in the market, there aren’t quite as many options for 24” displays that met all our requirements, and had a thin uniform bezel as well,” said Steve Woo, vice president of sales at Hiperwall. “We reached out to ViewSonic for assistance though, as they have a very extensive offering of professional grade displays ranging from 10” to 98”.”

“ViewSonic is a high-quality vendor of display products with decades of experience in digital solutions,” said Woo. “I believe their products add great depth to Hiperwall’s video wall solutions for a growing business segment.”

The company selected the ViewSonic VP2468 24” Full HD monitor with ultra-thin bezels.

“The ViewSonic VP2468 had the size and small form that we were looking for,” said Gieg. “It’s slim and has super-narrow bezels, which were perfect for a video wall. We never want thick black lines disrupting the flow of content going across a wall.”

Using ViewSonic 24-inch VP2468 displays, Hiperwall achieved the best combination of size, quality and value for their small-but-big video wall, which they dubbed the “MiniMassive Wall.”

Mounted above a credenza in the Hiperwall conference room, the 18-foot wide matrix of 36 monitors makes an inspiring impression. It’s an ideal canvas for showcasing the company’s capabilities to prospective customers.

Now Hiperwall can easily demonstrate how their powerful video wall software drives massive installations, like those at the New York Police Department or those at IntelSat – a globalized network delivering high-quality video and broadband services across the globe.

Hiperwall also uses the wall to evaluate their software’s capabilities in a large-scale environment and to expand its scalability testing.

As businesses, schools, and police and fire departments worldwide seek to expand their video wall installations to unprecedented scales, they can count on Hiperwall software to meet their needs. Now, they can easily visualize the Hiperwall solution thanks to Hiperwall’s MiniMassive Wall of 24” ViewSonic displays.

“Together, ViewSonic displays and Hiperwall’s software platform demonstrate the promise of future-proof, unlimited scalability that are the cornerstones of our video wall solution,” said Gieg. “ ViewSonic hardware and Hiperwall software are a natural fit.”

Bayside Community Church is a fast-growing church with six campuses across the Florida Gulf coast from Sarasota to the Tampa Bay area. Having met on a Bayside production crew, Crown Design Group founders Ben Graham and Garrett Walker have been taking care of the church’s AV needs ever since.

In 2018, Bayside approached Crown Design Group with two challenges. The church had begun construction on an office building in Bradenton, FL and was ready to outfit it from top to bottom with leading equipment. A key component in the leading-edge design would be easy, centralized control throughout the building.

“We planned out a foolproof way of controlling everything over Ethernet,” said CDG Owner/Partner Garrett Walker. “Audio, music players, display, timers, source selection – everything needed to work seamlessly and with centralized control.”

The complex build-out include a massive array of AV equipment. On the display side, Bayside wanted a large-screen display and laser projector for their central command room; multiple large-screen displays for meeting rooms and offices; and touchscreen monitors for tactical control of media players and recording decks.

“We decided on the Q-SYS software platform as our central control unit,” said Walker. “We needed displays that would work seamlessly with the system. We needed it to be foolproof.”

What’s more, said Walker, the displays needed to be top-notch commercial quality that could handle 24/7 workloads without fail. The final requirement: a high-quality laser projector with enough lumens to shine brightly in rooms with lots of ambient light. And of course, it all had to meet their budgeted price points.

Never having needed to integrate display functionality over LAN, Crown turned to their distributor for ideas. The top recommendation: ViewSonic.

“ViewSonic had a variety of display sizes with the LAN control capability we needed,” said Walker. “And they were good, commercial-quality displays we could count on handling the demands of the job.”

“It’s one of the closest short throw projectors that I know of at that brightness,” said Walker. “And the price point for the brightness output was outstanding.”

Crown chose a selection of 20 ViewSonic CDE Series Commercial Displays for use in offices and meeting rooms across the installment:

• ViewSonic CDE4803 48’’ Full HD LED commercial display
• ViewSonic CDE5510 55’’ 4K Ultra HD commercial display
• ViewSonic CDE6510 65’’ 4K Ultra HD commercial display
• ViewSonic CDE7500 75’’ 4K Ultra HD commercial display

The 55” and 65” displays were installed in offices and meeting rooms. Those destined for walls mounted securely with the ViewSonic WMK-047-2 commercial display wall mount. The 75” CDE7500 was installed in the pastor’s office, which was furnished with a conference table and used for presentations as well as viewing services.

Along the way CDG encountered a small stumbling block. Two rooms slated for projection had trickier requirements than anticipated. Ambient light conditions mandated high lumens. But the placement was tighter than expected, and ultra-short throw became a must. The client wanted the long lifespan and quick on-off of laser projection. And the budget was tight.

ViewSonic once again presented the solution: The ViewSonic LS830 laser projector paired with the ViewSonic BCP120 BrilliantColorPanel™ projection screen.

“It’s one of the closest short throw projectors that I know of at that brightness,” said Walker.
“And the price point for the brightness output was outstanding.”

Designed to enhance ultra-short throw projection, the BCP120 BrilliantColorPanel™ projection screen added important benefits in rooms with hard-to-control ambient light. By diffusing ambient light and fully reflecting projected colors, the BCP screen delivered vivid images, accurate color and consistent brightness across the screen. Wide 160-degree viewing angles delivered consistent image quality for side viewers as well as those directly in front of the screen.

“That screen along with that projector was really the only way of making quality projection work in the tight space in the screening room,” said Walker. “And projection was critical because the client wanted the room to look and sound like content displayed via projection during services. It was important to be able to make the final edits and color correction in a similar environment.”

Also used in a multipurpose room with loads of ambient light, ViewSonic LS830 plus the ViewSonic BCP120 BrilliantColorPanel projection screen enabled efficient meetings and meaningful presentations. The ViewSonic J-WMK-304 Universal Wall Mount Kit enabled easy install of the LS830 laser projector inches away from the wall.

Rounding out the project, CDG used several ViewSonic desktop-sized displays across the facility for a variety of purposes, including multiple source viewing in the control room and controlling the recording deck.

These included the:

• ViewSonic TD2220 - 22" multi-touch Full HD LED monitor 
• ViewSonic TD2421 - 24” dual-point optical touch monitor
• ViewSonic VG2248 - 22” SuperClear® IPS panel technology with 1080p
• ViewSonic VG2748 – 27” SuperClear® IPS panel technology with 1080p

The offices, said Walker, turned out beautifully. The control over Ethernet worked like a charm, enabling easy centralized control over every component. The tech was such a great fit, in fact, that Bayside Community Church used nearly the exact same ViewSonic products when outfitting its new West Bradenton campus later that year.

“In addition to many of the same uses, at the church we used the ViewSonic CDE5510 55’’ 4K displays backstage with multiview from several sources so the musicians can see what’s happening before they come out on stage,” said Walker. “We used the smaller displays for the tech team.”

It was another massive integration task, this time a retrofit of a building formerly occupied by a grocery store.

“We covered lighting, display, control, and everything in between,” said Walker. “We worked with the client from concept to reality, working with the architects, producing the equipment list and installing it all.”

Once again, ViewSonic products played an important role in the installation’s success.

“Feedback has been great. The client loves the way the displays look, especially the thin bezel and overall minimalist look,” said Walker. “The control over LAN feature was again very important. Having the central control, not having to mess around with remotes, is incredibly helpful for them.”

As for the ViewSonic LS830 Laser Projector, said Walker, they can hardly believe that it can work so beautifully so close to the screen.

“They also love that it turns on quickly and delivers such great images in the classroom with large windows and lots of ambient light,” he said, adding that, “It was again that terrific combination of BCP120 projection screen and LS830 laser projector that works so well.”

Game design and esports are hardware-dependent endeavors. A leader in the field, offering well-known degree programs in game design, SSU is always on the lookout for the best equipment to support student skill development. 

Classrooms full of systems to support programming serve as practice space for a majority of the esports team. While thankful to have the space and systems to practice, the classrooms lacked monitors with the high hertz and low response times ideal for high impact games like Rocket League and Overwatch, the mainstays of esports competition.

A chance encounter between a Shawnee State University Development Foundation member and a ViewSonic representative at a conference became an important turning point for the SSU esports team. One thing led to another, culminating in a sponsorship that provided the SSU esports team with 12 ViewSonic XG2530 gaming monitors and a ViewSonic PX706HD short throw gaming projector. 

According to Jason Maryne, ViewSonic Vertical Marketing Manager for Gaming, these products are designed to ideally support the gaming experience, with an ideally-sized 25-inch slim profile. 

“Most esports monitors are at least 144Hz refresh rate, “said Maryne. “The XG2530 delivers a 240Hz refresh rate, which is what many pro esports players rely on. Add to that an ultra-low 1ms response and you’ve got lightning-fast action with outstanding visual clarity and absolutely no blurring effects in fast-paced gaming scenarios.” 

SSU put six of the ViewSonic XG2530 gaming monitors in an esports training room and another six in classrooms, which hold design classes by day, esports athletes by night. The training room displays get extra action on the road, when the SSU team takes them to gaming conferences to showcase the team. 

The PX706HD Gaming Projector delivers a large screen size in a portable package, making it ideal for use at the team’s many away conferences. In the gaming center, it delivers big-screen impact with the set-up ease of a short throw lens. Low input lag delivers stutter- and lag-free action.

The SSU esports team had the good fortune of great new hardware for it’s first season as a NACE varsity team. Competitions included Smite, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Hearthstone. According to Travis Lynn Professor of Game Engineering, Shawnee Game Conference Chair, and Esports Assistant Coach, the ViewSonic displays made a big impact.

“Several schools and more than 700 participants and spectators attended our 16^th annual Shawnee Game Conference in November 2018,” said Lynn. “It was a big hit. Several schools also came to participate in our Rocket League LAN. At that event all players used the ViewSonic monitors. Everyone loved them.”

The ViewSonic XG2530 gaming monitors have set a new standard that’s hard to live without. The high hertz and low input lag make a massive difference with fast games like Rocket League and Overwatch, said Lynn, where reaction time is critical.

“We sent one home with a Rocket League Captain for a month or so, that way he could test it out. He had a 60Hz monitor at home and it was difficult for him to get good practices in,” said Lynn. “You could tell he enjoyed using it, as he was hoping to keep it longer when I said he had to bring it back.”

The program’s highly-ranked Overwatch Assistant Coach, Drew “Eskimo” Brown, is similarly pining for a ViewSonic XG2530. With only twelve to go around among 60 players, team members hustle to be early to practices to claim one.

"Being able to play at 240hz feels incredibly smooth,” said Erik Pleli "Glordren" the SSU League of Legends Captain. “And it’s great to have that in a more compact monitor as opposed to a massive monitor."

During the day, students use the low-input lag monitors for developing 3D game graphics, programming, and benchmarking games, said Lynn. As for the ViewSonic PX706HD short throw gaming projector, its given a boost to players and spectators alike

“Mounted TVs aren’t that spectator-friendly,” said Lynn. “The projector is perfect for showcasing what our players can do. And it’s great that we can use it for front or rear projection. It was perfect at the conference. Representatives from Twitch and other game companies used it in the auditorium to showcase game footage, videos, and slides.”

Even when projecting at a large scale, images are always crisp and detailed, with accurate color and no washout. Lynn added. And lag was never a problem.

In fact, the high quality of the projector caught the attention of community members at the conference.

“Our theater director suggested renting it out, as he knows community events would be interested, like the museums, the performing arts center, and the like” said Lynn. “We’re thinking of renting it out to raise funds for the players’ travel expenses.”

In a premiere varsity season that holds great promise for SSU, the ViewSonic PX706HD short throw gaming projector and ViewSonic XG2530 gaming monitors are clearly part of the winning equation for the SSU esports program.

As the Shawnee Rocket League Captain who had to return the ViewSonic XG2530 loaner sums it up:

These monitors set a new standard for me. Doubt I'll be going back to a 60hz in the future.

- Christopher Noah Boggs "Dysphoria".

In 2016, Fenton Area Public Schools’ aging classroom projectors were due for an upgrade. The annual Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) conference provided the perfect venue for Technology Director, Kevin Powers, to investigate alternatives.

While projection was his initial priority, it was impossible for Powers to ignore the many interactive display solutions. As he visited exhibitors, Powers was struck by the profound implications interactive displays could have for tactile learners. Sure, touch technology was more expensive than projection, but it was clearly worth taking a closer look at the potential benefits it offered. What would it be like to enable kids at his schools to manipulate information during the learning process?

Thus, the 2017-18 school year pilot was born. First, Powers and his team put ViewSonic interactive touch displays in nine rooms at Fenton Senior High School. Fourteen rooms got brand new high definition ceiling-mounted projectors. Later, the IT team asked teachers: did anything change for you?

“We wanted to drive change with this investment,” said Powers. “And after talking with each group of teachers, it was clear that nothing changed in the projector rooms.”

In rooms with the ViewSonic interactive display, however, teachers reported profound change. “Kids got out of their seats. They collaborated. Multiple students stood around the display and worked together. Teachers expanded their teaching methods. Positive changes were clearly being driven by the capabilities of the ViewSonic interactive displays. At that point,” said Powers, “we knew we were onto something with this technology.”

Powers began the decision process armed with info. At the MACUL conference he talked to every vendor. Clearly, touchscreen was hot. He noted that many companies were now “dabbling” in this market. Ultimately, he chose to pilot ViewSonic product for peace of mind.

“I kept coming back to ViewSonic because they’d made monitors for a very long time,” said Powers. “It was clear that this was their core business; they weren’t just trying to crack into the hot education interactive market. This is a long-term pathway for ViewSonic.”

This longevity in display technology, he said, made the choice clear.

“My fear was getting something from a new company, or one that recently began promoting touchscreen monitors, and have it turn out to be junk,” said Powers. “And we didn’t want to invest in a product to find out a year later that the company was gone. We didn’t have to worry about that with ViewSonic.”

ViewSonic features like one-touch Google Drive™ save, slot-in PC options and mobile stands added impact to the choice. Powers’ research pointed to 75” as the sweet spot for a standard 30’ x 30’ classroom, and the IT team chose the ViewSonic® ViewBoard™ IFP7550 75” Ultra HD resolution 20-point touch screen for the 9-room pilot. Overwhelmingly positive results from the 9-room pilot led the team to a phase two test with teachers in the middle and elementary schools. This too produced nothing but positive feedback.

From there, Fenton Area Schools used bond money to purchase ViewSonic® ViewBoard™IFP7550 displays for every classroom district-wide, including the high school, middle school, elementary schools and the young 5s rooms in the early childhood building – for a total of 153 displays. The final installation included adjustable, powered mobile stands and ViewSonic slot-in PCs.

ViewBoard IFP7550:

• Ultra HD Resolution
• 20-point Multi-touch Interactive Screen
• One-Touch Save to Google Drive
• Out-of-Box Collaboration

ViewBoard Accessories used by Fenton Area Public Schools:

• VB-STND-001 Standard Trolley Cart
• LB-STND-003 Motorized Trolley Cart with a 90-degree tilt
• LB-STND-005-3 Motorized Trolley Cart
• VPC14-WP-2 Slot-in PC with Intel® Unite™ software

Every step of the way, the Fenton IT team has had nothing but positive feedback from the teaching staff and students.

“Basically, the feedback has been astronomical,” said Powers. “This is really a home run for our schools.”

From music and art to social studies and math, teachers in every area report greater attention and participation. As one 4th grade teacher put it: “They can't wait to get their hands on it.”

The ability to expand the ways in which they teach is another common theme: Quickly pulling up info to answer questions and enhance lessons; writing directly on top of any content; presenting in exciting new ways. Other consistent accolades include the sharp, “larger than life” images and the ability to easily see the screen without having to turn the lights off.

“I really like the crisp, clear picture. It’s great for sharing artwork and giving examples,” said a middle school art teacher, “I’m also impressed by how well it’s viewed from all areas of the classroom.”

As he conducts training with the teaching staff, Powers hears much of this feedback first hand. The most-loved feature, he said, is probably the ability to quickly save content to Google Drive.

“Many of our teachers use Google Classroom and the ViewSonic IFP7550 enables teachers to capture their notes (or anything on the screen) and upload it to Google Drive using the cloud sync tool,” said Powers. “Additionally, ViewBoard 2.1 lets our teachers create lesson boards that can be printed to PDF and easily uploaded to Google Drive for posting in Google Classroom.”

As a 5th-grade math teacher noted, “I love that I can do my entire math lesson notes on the display, save it, and then send it to students that were absent."

Beyond the collaboration-building, instruction-enhancing multiple touch capabilities, Powers said the slot-in PC and powered mobile stands have added important capabilities.

“During the pilot, we started out with Android and hooking the displays up to our own PCs,” said Powers. “Then we tried the slot-in PC and found it to be a more robust solution. It gives teachers more options. For example, we have a teacher running a graphic calculator emulation. Our yearbook teacher runs the Adobe creative suite and uses the display to bring up page designs for discussion. Having the Windows flexibility with the slot-in PC is tremendous.”

The mobile stands let teachers move the displays throughout their classroom space – tapping into the benefits of a flexible classroom environment. While originally intending to use fixed mobile stands, Powers said they quickly discovered that the youngest students couldn’t reach the display.

“When we saw how terrific it was for students to be able to manipulate content – how well this was driving success and achievement – we needed to make sure our youngest students had access to that tech too,” said Powers. “ViewSonic, being a real player in this market, had a powered stand that lowered the display to 8” off the ground. That solved that problem. The powered stand is amazing. It makes the display friendly and inviting to young students to walk up, grab a stylus and get working on it."

Both features have been widely embraced by teachers for enhancing their teaching abilities. As noted by the art teacher:

“I really like having a separate computer from my own so that I can grade/check my email while playing a learning tutorial on the screen, and I like that it is on wheels and is mobile.”

Next on the agenda, said Powers, is ongoing professional development to help teachers maximize the impact of the new tool.

“The ViewSonic IFP7550s immediately made a positive impact,” said Powers. “But we know there’s so much more the teachers can do with them as they gain experience with the displays. Right now, I’m introducing Share with Air Class. We’re excited to see where this takes us as the year progresses.”

Fan safety is a serious matter of concern in soccer stadiums in Montevideo. Brawls among spectators became so commonplace, that an El Clásico (a game where the two major local teams come face to face) had not taken place in the evening for eight years.

Until recently, the security system in major soccer stadiums in Montevideo (particularly, the Centenario, the Campeón del Siglo, and the Gran Parque Central) boiled down to a scant number of cameras located in some stands and bleacher sections. These were very simple and basic systems that weren’t very effective. Anytime an incident occurred, there was neither control nor evidence that law enforcement authorities could depend upon.

With the help of H&O, the AUF realized that the best security solution would involve controlling the access of attendees at shows and soccer matches. They concluded that the best means for non-invasive “control”, that also prevent any delay of entry into stadiums, was through face recognition and video surveillance.

Following AUF guidelines, H&O deployed an access control system based on face recognition and video surveillance of each stadium’s entry points, as well as seats, bleachers, and stands. To be completely effective, however, a security system of this magnitude needed real-time image processing. Thanks to Ultra HD and Full HD monitors from ViewSonic, the clear and detailed imaging needed for complete surveillance was possible.

A central control room was equipped with ViewSonic VX2475SMHL-4K monitors that delivered stunningly detailed images ideal for facial recognition and identification. ViewSonic VA2407H Full HD monitors were used for general surveillance and playback of the security cameras. ViewSonic monitors were installed in three of Montevideo’s major stadiums, in three separate stages: the Centenario (13 screens), the Campeón del Siglo (11 screens), and the Gran Parque Central (11 screens).

According to H&O, they chose ViewSonic monitors because in comparison to similar brands, ViewSonic delivered the best possible solution at a reasonable cost. In addition, H&O searched for monitors that would meet the specific needs of the AUF:

• HDMI Connectivity
• VESA-compliant mounts for installation in the control rooms
• Good image quality and high resolutions
• Brand reputation and perceived quality of products
• Reliability and durability

“We chose ViewSonic because of the quality of their products, and because of their great reputation as a partner,” Diego Di Bello, CEO of Home&Office, said. “We also took screen durability into account, and we feel that ViewSonic delivers a more reliable product when compared to other brands we looked at. This project is meant to last five years, and we want the screens to look the same from the first day to the last day of the project, and we want the clients to be happy throughout the project.”

According to Bello, the results have been awesome; the security system is running smoothly and has helped to reduce violent incidents in the stadiums. System operators within the police department are very happy with the quality of the images received.

“We installed some very expensive cameras in these stadiums. But if you install expensive cameras and the playback and images aren’t good on screen, then the whole application is a waste of money. So, we sought the best for both endpoints: the cameras to capture the images, and the screens to display them,” DiBello said. “Actually, the success of our security system is reflected in the improved behavior of stadium attendees. Everything is quieter now and virtually no incidents have occurred in these stadiums.”

While no statistics have been released, a new precedent had indeed been set. Since the implementation of the new security system, two Clásicos games have been played in the evening.

“Now you can see children and families coming back to the stadiums. That wasn’t the case before. They wouldn’t show up out of fear or insecurity. Although I have no concrete statistics, I can say that virtually zero violent incidents have occurred since the system installation,” Di Bello concluded.

Radiologists require clear, accurate images to effectively render accurate diagnoses. To perform with maximum efficiency in today’s environment, they also need efficient visibility of related data like lists of patients from various imaging sites and the content of their reports. SMT accomplishes both by equipping their powerful PACStations with extensive viewing options: two specialized diagnostic displays for reviewing medical images; four monitors for up-to-the-minute access to active worklists; and a fifth monitor for viewing report dictation.

Using one of the three display configurations offered to fit individual radiologist preferences, doctors can easily shift their view from the diagnostic images to patient worklists and the dictation screen. A highly efficient solution, PACStations provide access to everything radiologists need from one chair, without having to move, said Felix Garcia, SMT CEO. However, there is one challenge: when worklists monitors are positioned vertically the small type can appear faded and difficult to read from an off angle. To guard against this possibility, SMT was looking to upgrade to a model that offered the best possible viewing from all angles.

"Radiology worklists often contain very small font and it can slow the radiologists down when they can’t read it clearly from every angle," said Garcia. "Our engineers were looking for a solution to deliver clear, off-angle viewing."

A satisfied ViewSonic customer for over three years – since becoming frustrated with the high backlight failure rate of their previous supplier’s products – SMT’s engineers were pleased to find an ideal solution from among ViewSonic’s current available models.

After considering several options, the engineers chose the ViewSonic® VG2239Smh 22’’ Full HD LED multimedia monitor with SuperClear® MVA panel technology. Along with delivering 178°/178° ultra-wide viewing from any angle, the VG2239Smh offered the quality, picture clarity and backlight features they were looking for, according to Garcia.

"That model had the right combination of features," said Garcia. "My engineers liked the viewing angle capabilities in particular; when we flip it from horizontal to vertical it maintains the image quality perfectly. It made our choice pretty simple."

Radiologists appreciate SMT PACStations for providing the ability to effortlessly view patient lists from several providers at once, enabling them to stay vigilant for the most critical cases ordered for stat viewing. They particularly benefit from the system-agnostic solution – a rarity in the fragmented medical market – and they often comment on how much they like the configuration of the displays. One thing they don’t comment on much: the monitors themselves.

"We love ViewSonic monitors and we buy quite a few of them," said Garcia. "But the fact that we never hear about them from our customers is a good thing. It means the monitors are working exactly as they should."

Now on their third ViewSonic model, Garcia estimates that his company has purchased in the range of 800 to 900 ViewSonic monitors to date, with installations across the U.S. and Hawaii. The VESA compatible mount and the ability to rotate screen orientation from horizontal to vertical are must-haves that ViewSonic has consistently provided. The recent upgrade to the VG2239Smh keeps SMT’s complex, multi-site PACStations on the forefront of today’s radiology equipment.

"This ViewSonic monitor offered an important feature that allows our product to work in a better way," said Garcia. "It’s a terrific addition to the performance and availability we’ve counted on from ViewSonic monitors over the past three years."

One thing SMT’s customers do notice about their five non-diagnostic displays is the distinctive Finch logo.

"They do recognize the brand," said Garcia. "And the brand recognition is a good thing for us."

When director of instructional technology, Rob Zdrojewski, joined the Oakfield - Alabama School District in 2015, he discovered a situation common in today’s schools: aging, worn out Smartboards in need of replacement. Before choosing a path forward, Zdrojewski looked at the latest Smartboards, touch-enabled projectors and interactive flat panels. Flat panels as a category quickly rose to the top because of their better overall total cost of ownership, and because they eliminate common projector challenges like the need to calibrate to maintain accurate touchpoints.

“We then looked at panels from a dozen or so manufacturers, including the big-name brands like Promethean, Smart and ViewSonic,” said Zdrojewski. “We also looked at some smaller no-name suppliers, which, by the way, are no longer around.”

From this pool of contenders, the ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP7550 75” interactive flat panel display with Ultra HD 4K resolution emerged as the top solution to meet the district’s needs.

“The easy on-board annotation really sold me on ViewSonic,” said Zdrojewski. “We loved the ability to draw over any input source – live document camera, content from a connected laptop, smartphone or tablet, DVD content– it didn’t matter what the input source was you could write over it with the built-in annotation tools. We weren’t seeing that functionality except on the Windows side of things or proprietary products like Smart Ink.”

That, said Zdrojewski, along with having been around for a couple of decades with a reputation for great product reliability, convinced them that ViewSonic was the way to go.

“ViewSonic has a good warranty, which is something we wanted to be sure of,” he added. “We’ve had 17-, 19-, and 22-inch ViewSonic monitors for many years – and in the rare occasion we’ve needed to make a warranty claim it hadn’t been a problem at all.”

Additionally, Zdrojewski and his team were impressed with ViewSonic’s forward-thinking focus on the important role of Google and Chrome in the education environment.

"We consider Microsoft Windows a legacy platform – whenever possible we choose to deploy Chrome OS devices instead," said Zdrojewski. “Of all the vendors we looked at, ViewSonic had done the most research for Google Drive integration and the advantages of Chrome. Everyone else wanted to push Windows – and all the proprietary accessories that went with it.”

Based on this outstanding overall fit for their needs, the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District purchased 90 ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP7550 IFPs and began installing them across its elementary, middle, and high school buildings. For added teaching impact, the ViewBoard IFPs were fitted out with Chromeboxes and accessories like document cameras, webcams, and wireless mobile keyboards, said Zdrojewski.

Deployed on mobile carts to enable efficient resource-sharing and easy classroom reconfiguration, the ViewSonic ViewBoard IFPs immediately began delivering added convenience, flexibility and engagement. Teachers found them easy to use and most mastered the basics after about only 10 minutes of training.

“The ViewBoards are very user friendly,” said Zdrojewski. “When we checked back after the initial training, teachers are already doing things like saving annotated screenshots to Google Drive and using the built-in timer tools.”

At every grade level, teachers have been thrilled with the performance improvements and added features offered by ViewBoard. Not only are they (and their students) empowered to draw and write over any displayed content, the brighter screens bring welcome clarity and classroom management benefits.

Another big bonus: no longer having to worry about projector calibration.

“With the Smartboard projectors teachers were continually having to deal with calibration and issues with the accuracy of what you’re touching on screen lining up correctly,” said Zdrojewski.

All-in-all, the ViewBoard IFPs have become a powerful educational tool wielded by the Oakfield-Alabama teachers. Wireless keyboard in hand, they walk classrooms freely, sharing insights from any vantage point and encouraging students to wirelessly cast content from their Chromebooks onto the ViewBoard screen. Multiple screens are deployed to classrooms seeking to differentiate lessons or break students into project-based groups, and the added ability to pinch, zoom into and annotate on top of anything on screen has had a big boon to teachers’ instructional capabilities. Tried-and-true “old fashioned” worksheets get ViewBoard screen-time thanks to the document camera, enabling annotating, collaboration and concept clarification that all can easily see. The wide-angle webcam and Google Hangouts meet up to enable entire classrooms to communicate with collaborators across the country or across the world.

“One cool example is that the day before the presidential election in 2016 a politics class was able to talk to one of our senators about the election using the ViewBoard in the library,” said Zdrojewski. “It was one of the first times a high school class experienced the power of live interaction on a big screen.”

Last but not least, said Zdrojewski, the ViewBoards have cut costs related to maintenance, repairs and power use.

“There’s not much that can go wrong with them and, in contrast to our Smartboards, which we had lots of issues with, we get virtually no tickets submitted related to the ViewBoards,” he said. “They’re very maintenance free.”

Gaston County Systems Administrator Fred Hinson was on the lookout for an economical client for their Citrix environment to help cut costs and address performance and management challenges posed by their existing Windows-embedded clients. His most pressing need was for a health department clinic, where costly convertible tablets provided sought-after mobility but were impacting productivity with frequent lost WiFi connections. In other government offices, the current Windows-embedded clients were proving difficult and time-consuming to manage.

After discovering ViewSonic® SC-T25 Raspberry Pi 3 Thin Clients at Citrix Synergy-Las Vegas in May 2016, Hinson immediately knew he wanted to try them out. With a powerful Broadcom® BCM2837 quad core ARM Cortex CPU and Stratodesk® NoTouch® OS, the Citrix® HDX™ optimized clients were exactly the high-performance, cost-effective solution he was looking for.

“It took me about eight months to complete some projects already in progress and align the time and resources to purchase a couple for demo,” said Hinson. “Needless to say, since we ended up purchasing them, they were impressed.”

Hinson was impressed as well, and his team quickly purchased more than 20 thin clients for deployment in the health clinic and the county’s main social services site. Since this initial deployment, the IT department has purchased and deployed 30 more in offices throughout the county.

The initial Health department deployment has been a resounding success. The new SC-T25 Thin Clients mounted on wheeled carts maintain practitioner mobility, while eliminating the several problems presented by the convertible tablets and conventional PCs.

“The nurses love not having to carry around a cumbersome convertible laptop,” said Hinson. “The SC-T25 thin clients really helped decrease access and login times – and thankfully the dropped connections issue is a thing of the past.”

The performance delivered by the SC-T25 in every deployment location, he said, has been beyond their expectations.

“They’ve outperformed anything we’ve tried in the past, from physical fat clients to thin clients, even elite powered workstations,” said Hinson. “These devices have been truly exceptional; they really work flawlessly over wireless. I’m very impressed with the performance.”

Plus, said Hinson, the savings have also been tremendous.

“Our convertible laptop devices were about $1400 each, with the SC-T25 Raspberry Pi 3 thin clients on wheeled carts the practitioners can have a workstation at their desks and leverage wireless where needed for a fraction of the cost.”

Once deployed, the benefits kept getting better, with the Stratodesk management capabilities shining above any other client management platforms Hinson has experienced. Hinson said there was no comparison to their most recent Windowsembedded clients, which were a nightmare to manage, requiring the set up and maintenance of a separate management server and added knowledge resources. Plus, he said, even after taking those measures, the device management was very difficult to control.

“Stratodesk truly lives up to their ‘NoTouch’ name,” said Hinson. “It’s an easy drag-and-drop interface and it has been an absolute best-in-class product as far as we are concerned.”

Like many schools today, the St. Matthew Parish School was ready to retire a host of aging SMART boards. Having used the boards for the past 10 years, the teachers and administrators knew what worked well – and what didn’t. While teachers and students were benefitting from the interactive capabilities, several limitations compelled technology coordinator Gretchen Knapp to look for a better option.

Knapp recognized that keeping teachers tethered to their laptops constrained their creative capabilities. In addition, the need to continually "orient" the SMART boards to reconfigure touchpoints whenever the projector or board was bumped or jarred by vibrations was sapping teacher time and patience. The school was also looking to move away from Windows and become a Google Chrome environment, which created a dilemma around license renewal for their SMART Notebook software, which Knapp said didn’t work well with Chromebooks.

"Last time I looked, SMART hadn’t done a lot with Chromebooks and we were committed to moving in that direction," said Knapp, "So license renewal didn’t make much sense."

Against this backdrop of concerns, Knapp began noticing the interactive ViewSonic display used by her TV weather station, thinking how terrific it would be to have them in the classrooms. When their solution provider, Blue Technologies, mentioned ViewSonic ViewBoard, it was only a matter of time before Knapp ordered a demo of the CDE7061T 70’’ 10-point touch ViewBoard interactive display along with the optional slot-in PC and mobile cart.

The demo offered exactly what they were looking for: added interactive capabilities, outstanding touch accuracy, and freedom from cords, along with the mobility and durability to serve as a flexible resource throughout the school. Plus, said Knapp, the setup was incredibly fast and easy. ("We had it mounted and up and running in less than an hour.") The pilot was a big success, and the school quickly purchased three additional cart-mounted ViewBoard displays.

"I’m a firm believer that you can over-research sometimes," said Knapp. "So we
went with ViewSonic and we haven’t looked back. We’ve got a great thing going with the ViewBoard and we’re really not interested in looking at anything else right now."

The school piloted the 70" ViewSonic ViewBoard in a unique setting – the gym. The durable, mobile-cart mounted ViewBoard was the perfect fit for enabling the PE teacher to enhance her instruction with online resources. After almost two full school-years of use, the PE teacher continues to be thrilled with its performance.

"It has been a phenomenal addition to her teaching," said Knapp. "She’s able to pull content to enrich her curriculum, like videos on how to swing a bat correctly or covering the rules of a game. The timer also comes in handy and the kids really enjoy it."

The sturdy, smooth-rolling mobile cart lets classes quickly move the display to start game play or to position it for optimal viewing. Despite its easy mobility, however, the display has been hit a couple of times, said Knapp – proving it to be as durable as they’d hoped.

Mobility has been an important factor in the ViewBoard’s success throughout the school, along with the added flexibility delivered by the powerful slot-in PC and wireless control.

"The SMART boards were wall-mounted and the teachers were tired of having to always face the stationary board," said Knapp. "They love being able to position the ViewBoard wherever it best suits their needs and use it to get creative and collaborative with the kids, which is the wave of the new teaching techniques."

The slot-in PC, controlled with a wireless keyboard and mouse, added clutter-free convenience to the freedom of movement, freeing teachers from the hassles and tripping hazards of cables.

"The teachers never have to connect their laptops and they’re no longer tethered to a particular spot," said Knapp. "They love that they can be anywhere in the classroom and do what they need right from where they are, whether they’re standing or sitting."

Following the PE teacher’s success, the school purchased ViewBoard interactive displays for use in the kindergarten and 8th grade classrooms. A favorite feature of both instructors is the accuracy of the touchpoints.

"Our kindergarten teacher absolutely loves how much better the ViewBoard pen writing is," said Knapp. "It helps the kids really be able to see how they’re doing with developing their writing skills."

Importantly, the online features of the school’s Superkids reading program work without a hitch on the ViewBoard, said Knapp, and the students’ writing is always perfectly aligned. To the kindergarten teacher’s great relief, her ViewBoard has eliminated the dreaded "orient" process.

"Orient became a bad word around here," said Knapp jokingly but in all seriousness. "With the SMART board, if the projector or board got bumped or there were any slight vibrations teachers would have to stop and "reorient" the system or the writing would be off."

This was no small problem for the first-floor Kindergarten classroom, which was subject to vibrations from above when the kids changed classes. Thoroughly satisfied with the upgrade, Knapp said the kindergarten teacher hasn’t looked back at her SMART board once since receiving the ViewBoard. The 8th grade teacher has similarly been won over by the merits of the ViewBoard. One of her favorite aspects is the accuracy of the touch and how easy it is to use. "She also absolutely loves the way she can use her fist to erase," said Knapp. "And while that may seem like a small thing, it’s really not because it saves her a lot of time each day, being able to quickly erase what’s on the board."

Clay Cook's extensive gear list includes some of the best cameras, lighting equipment and ancillary accessories available. His studio, however, was devoid of monitors and the side-by-side displays in his home office were sorely outdated. He was ready to upgrade and discover the benefits of leveraging professional-grade monitors to enhance his work.

Cook was beginning to shop around for a replacement for his "outdated" workstation monitors when ViewSonic approached him about trying out their VP line of professional displays.

"I was about to invest in a pretty legit, expensive, artists' workstation, with really
high-end features and a correspondingly high price tag," said Cook, "At first, I was
surprised because I didn't know that ViewSonic made pro monitors, but I said, sure, I'll try them out. But I also let them know I'm not going to just accept a product if it doesn't work well for me, it has to be something I can use and that I love."

Cook put the 24" VP2468 to the test, and quickly found that it delivered more than
the anticipated level of improvement over his old monitors. "I knew it would be better than what I had, but it completely blew me away," said Cook. "I was impressed by construction, the look, the color quality, pretty much everything."

Starting with the 24" ViewSonic VP2468, then moving up to the larger 32" ViewSonic VP3268-4K, Cook found that adding a monitor to his studio expanded his ability to share images with clients. While continuing to use the laptop for his own viewing, Cook could provide the secondary screen to clients for greater image visibility without the hassle of his laptop doing double-duty.

"I love having a separate display that can rotate around to show images," said Cook. "It's very versatile and much bigger than showing them on my laptop. It's a much better studio set up."

Simply displaying the image would, of course, not be worth much if the color
consistency, shadow density or clarity were less than a solid match with what Cook sees on the back of his camera. To preserve color consistency and retain shadow density from capture to print, Cook relies on ViewSonic's X-Rite Colorbration™ Kit to calibrate his VP Series monitors.

"The ViewSonic VP2468, VP3268-4K and VP2771 monitors are fantastic high-definition workspaces that provide a vital viewing station for my clientele on location and in the studio," said Cook. "They enable me to pass the satisfaction of nailing the shot on to my clientele, who have invested in that image."

The barely-there, frameless design of all VP Series monitors offers nearly seamless side-by-side viewing, ideal for Cook's dual-monitor office setup.

"I like to multitask and two monitors side by side makes it easier to move between email and other apps while processing images," said Cook. "I'm currently working with the ViewSonic VP2771 WQHD monitors – the quality is fantastic and the bigger the screen, the more creative canvas I have to work with."

Also common to all VP Series displays, the edge-to-edge uniformity of color and
brightness across the screen is another feature that made an impression on Cook.

"The edge-to-edge is awesome," said Cook. "It's fantastic to be able to view images
from any direction and they don't lose brightness or color consistency. I don't
have to worry about whether an image is accurate, no matter where I'm looking
at it from."

Plus, said Cook, the flexible ergonomic design with auto pivot functionality lets him easily flip the display to work with both horizontal and vertical format photographs.

Remember the high-priced, uber-pro monitor Cook was considering before he was introduced to the VP Series? Cook clearly has no regrets.

"I've seen a lot of those monitors and they're nice, but these work for me," he said. "And honestly, I've always been one to invest in quality. I try to get top tier gear so I don't have to buy twice. But at the same time, I use what works for me and the ViewSonic VP Series monitors uphold the quality that I need and are completely sufficient for what I do."

What's more, Cook added, the VP Series monitors have a sweet design and look just as sharp as more expensive top tier monitors.

Thinking back on his initial skepticism about whether ViewSonic VP Series monitors would be a good fit for his needs as a professional photographer, Cook concludes that, "ViewSonic really hit it out of the park with this series of monitors.

As with any university, UDE’s academics were comprised of multiple departments, faculties, and disciplines, all of which were in need of new and better projector equipment. Trouble was, each department had different projection needs.

“The projectors we had used previously presented different academic and operating difficulties for each department,” said Sebastian Alba, head of the IT department at UDE. “For instance, the Faculty of Health Sciences had difficulties viewing X-Ray projections during their lessons, while the Faculty of Design and Communication would make frequent requests for a wider range of colors.”

In addition to providing its students and professors with improved projection images, UDE also needed to find a solution that could deliver network capabilities so that projectors could be remotely managed across the entire campus – thereby delivering greater efficiency, reduced operating costs, and fewer IT man hours.

Before selecting a new and improved projection solution that would benefit the entire university, UDE’s IT department conducted several internal studies to investigate the capabilities and lifespan of its current equipment, and used those findings to select new equipment. The IT department concluded that ViewSonic projectors could fully meet the operating and academic needs of the university.

“At the beginning, we feared the implementation was going to be costly because we needed to meet the demands of the relevant stakeholders as soon as possible in order to secure continued academic operations,” said Alba. “But then ViewSonic’s helpful and effective business and technical support team helped to make this process faster and easier to complete.”

In addition to technical and business support, ViewSonic projectors offered lower maintenance, DLP technology-based projectors, and a wide variety of projection choices. As such, ViewSonic was a one-stop-shop that provided everything from basic PJD5 projectors for small classrooms, to high-level PJD6 networkable projectors, and Full HD PJD7 and Pro 9 projectors.

UDE went on to purchase over 100 ViewSonic projectors to be used in classrooms throughout the eight faculties of the university. Models included the PJD5155, PJD6352LS, PJD7828HDL, and Pro9510L, and were chosen to meet the particular needs of each department.

According to Alba, results have been very successful. Students and professors alike, even those in the most demanding courses, have expressed full satisfaction in the new ViewSonic projectors since projected lessons are running more smoothly. There have been fewer complaints about failures and poor image quality, while the load on the IT team has been reduced as well.

“We have seen a noticeable improvement in our IT team’s mood, because the staff used to work under severe pressure all the time with our old projectors,” said Alba. “This new ViewSonic solution has allowed for our IT staff to be entrusted with other tasks.”

Today, 96% of UDE projectors are ViewSonic projectors, and there are plans to increase this percentage to 100%. Given the success of the installation, UDE has decided to increase an implementation of PJD6 networkable projectors, as well as the addition of PJ-Vtouch-10S interactive kits for short-throw projectors.

“It’s incredibly satisfying to see teachers and students interact based on the high-quality images offered by ViewSonic projectors,” said Alba.

The Chagrin Falls School District was well along the path of evolving to enable effective 21^st century education. From kindergarten to 12^th grade, every child had his or her own Chromebook; classwork was often project-based and highly collaborative; and the current district strategic plan stressed flexible learning and individualized education for each student.

From this vantage point, the district envisioned adding a flexible learning space that would integrate technology, foster creativity and encourage students to reach beyond traditional educational boundaries. To enable this objective, the district repurposed space from the middle school library and two traditional classrooms, with the goal of transforming them into 4,300 square feet housing three distinct yet interconnected learning spaces:

• A research center with movable seating to foster idea creation, study and exposure to literature
• A collaboration classroom to facilitate interaction between students and faculty in small group discussions within the school and beyond the borders of Chagrin Falls
• An innovation lab offering 3D printers, embroidery machines, laser cutters and more to bring student ideas to life.

With this vision squarely in place, the IT team needed to determine the appropriate technology to make it come to life. The initial plan, which called for budget-conscious short throw projectors, along with 32” displays in the collaboration booths, didn’t quite match their vision of an easy-to-use, high-impact collaborative space.

Around this time, Director of Technology & Information Systems, Mike Daugherty, met ViewSonic representative Tim Atkinson, and everything started coming together.

“Tim came in, looked at the original plan, actually walked the space with us twice, and through his expertise offered recommendations that really made sense for us,” said Daugherty.

Recommendations included boosting visibility in the collaborative booths with ViewSonic® CDE4803 48’’ Full HD LED displays, along with ViewSonic CDE6502 65’’ Full HD LED displays in the adjacent collaboration rooms. The ViewSonic CDE8451-TL 84" Interactive Flat Panel display (IFP) was an ideal fit for delivering visibility and interaction in the largest room, which was designed to accommodate up to 50 participants. Two CDE6561T 65” IFPs added collaboration capabilities in the technology integrationist’s space and the innovation lab.

“Tim recommended that we increase the display size in the booths to 48” for greater visibility, and suggested that we add interactive capabilities in the largest space as well as the two mid-sized rooms, which was a great call,” said Daugherty. “He gave us great advice and we made a lot of changes based on his recommendations – then ViewSonic made it affordable for us.”

The final piece of the solution, Solstice collaborative software, enables wireless connectivity and the ability for an unlimited number of users to simultaneously share and manipulate content.

The vision became a reality with the opening of the Innovation Center in August 2016. It immediately became a student, teacher and administrator hotspot.

Groups of 3-4 students regularly gather in each of the five collaborative booths, connecting their chromebooks and sharing content on the ViewSonic CDE4803 48” displays. The three nearby collaboration rooms outfitted with ViewSonic CDE6502 65’’ displays, affectionately called the fishbowls for their mostly transparent walls, meet the needs of larger groups and have been useful for professional development as well as student project work.

“They’re the same concept as the booth only bigger,” said Daugherty. “Kids can connect to the ViewSonic 65” big screen to show what’s on their chromebook, discuss projects and make changes.”

Even more popular, said Daugherty, is the largest collaboration space. Furnished with a comfy oversized couch and sleek built-in bar seating, 50 participants can gather to view and interact with the ViewSonic 84” CDE8451 Ultra HD 10-point interactive flat panel display. To date the most used area of the Innovation Center, classes from the high school and middle school, as well as groups of parents, staff and district administrators, vie for this compelling space, which is even in use on many Saturdays.

“One great example is our iOS programming class,” said Daugherty. “The teacher connected her MacBook to the display and the kids were able to demo their work up on the screen, interacting with it as if it were a giant iPhone or iPad.”

Rounding out the newly collaborative workspaces, the technology integrationist’s conference-room office has become an even more efficient training space, with the addition of a ViewSonic CDE6561T 65’’ Full HD interactive flat panel display.

Rising above it all, the 84” CDE8451 IFP captures the essence of the future-forward learning space, along with the immediate attention of all who enter. As summed up by Daugherty:

“The addition of interactivity, the look and feel of the wall-mounted monitors, and the overall appeal has really turned out to be terrific. We wouldn’t have had that with projectors. As it is now you walk in and see the giant 84” display – and that huge 4K TV makes a great impact.”

“It’s truly a great space for us,” concludes Daugherty. “Yesterday I walked in and saw 120 kids in the three areas, all being productive in their individual ways. ViewSonic deserves a big thank you for coming in and listening to what we wanted to do, taking into account what we needed cost-wise, and coming up with a solution that worked for us.”

Granted bond monies to support construction and technology infrastructure upgrades, the Chico SD allocated a portion of the funds for technology enhancement at the elementary school level. Another portion was earmarked to support the integration of sixth graders into the district’s three junior highs (about to transform into middle schools) with the build out of seven new science classrooms and technology updates in 11 existing science rooms. The district’s IT group was tasked with recommending technology that would deliver maximum educational benefit for students.

While the IT team weighed the options, IT director Jason Gregg, along with Information Systems Analyst John Sclare, attended several classroom AV technology tradeshows.  Everything they saw pointed to interactive display technology as their ideal solution.  According to Sclare, who became lead project manager for the installation of the displays, the team evaluated options from several manufacturers, as well as other ViewSonic models, before choosing the ViewSonic® CDE7060T 70’’ Full HD interactive flat panel display.

“Our ViewSonic rep, Cheryl Badley, sent us a demo unit of the 70” display with integrated PC, which we set up in our technology staging room,” said Sclare. “We invited teachers from various school sites to come try it out and they got really excited about it.”

Plans were quickly made to deploy the CDE7060T at the three junior highs and three elementary schools. Once they arrived, Sclare and his team focused on integrating the interactive all-in-one displays in a manner that would more fully enhance the classroom learning environment, including the integration of PoE, wireless, zero clients and content sharing software for added convenience and versatility.

“One of the things we discovered was that the teachers were tied to their desk by USB cables that only reached 15 feet,” said Sclare. “We put in wireless document cams, keyboards, and mice so that the teachers can sit anywhere in the classroom to control the display.”

Power over Ethernet (PoE) lets the IT group manage the devices over the network and cleans up cable clutter. The use of zero clients along with content sharing software has enabled students to push content to the front-of-room display to demonstrate their work.

Now in use at several of the district’s second- through fifth-grade classrooms and new middle school science classrooms, the CDE7060T has become a valued resource in this low-income community. Combining powerful integrated processing, 8GB of internal storage, smooth 10-point touchscreen interactivity, and included annotation software, the durable 70” display has opened the door to interactive problem-solving, creative collaboration and a world of internet content.

“Everyone at the middle schools has said nothing but good things,” said Sclare, “and they’ve really taken off at the elementary level. In one of our more challenging schools, teachers noticed almost immediately that things in the classroom settled down and the kids really wanted to pay attention. They’re really excited about the technology.”

As for the impressions of those on the IT team who do have visibility into the classrooms – the technician’s – they couldn’t be happier.

“I’m an infrastructure person so my responsibility is bringing new technology to the classrooms. The technicians have more interaction with the teachers and classrooms,” said Sclare. “I’ve asked what they think, now that they’ve been exposed to projectors, smart boards, and now these interactive flat panel displays. I’ve asked, which ones do you want to support? They say it’s far easier to support the interactive displays, which are no different than supporting a computer. Also, they don’t need much, they just work.”

Not long after deployment, reporter Dani Anguiano from the Chico Enterprise-Record* spoke to Citrus Elementary School principal Rachel Tadeo and got an inside look at some of the classrooms, one of which named their interactive display “Vinnie the Viewsonic.”
As reported by Anguiano:

“In teacher Nicole Ballew’s third-grade class, when it’s time to solve math problems using the displays, students are excited. On a recent Thursday morning, when Ballew invited a student to come up to the board and solve a problem, all 20 students’ hands shot up to volunteer. Rather than work alone, they crowded around the screen with students taking turns showing how they solved a problem and others taking turns offering feedback to one another. Features on the display allow each student to choose which color to write in, so that it’s easier to distinguish between different students’ work. Teachers can also save the work to refer back to later.”

Principal Tadeo noted in the article that the new interactive teaching tool is clearly having a major impact on the way students learn and is particularly helpful for those who have challenges focusing.

“It’s clear that it’s working,” Tadeo said. “Our population is very low-income and doesn’t have a lot of the resources that other schools do, so this opens up the world to them.  They’re just so much more attentive. It’s very well worth the investment.”

Support from ViewSonic, said Sclare, helped pave the way for the successful use of the CDE7060T in the district’s classrooms.

“Cheryl has come by twice, first to demo the product and then to provide training to teachers and other staff. We held four 90 minutes sessions – Cheryl was here all day.  We had teachers from all three junior highs and from Citrus Elementary plus IT and administrative staff come learn about how to use the interactive display.”

Based on the success of this initial deployment, Sclare said that without a doubt the district would like to put ViewSonic CDE7060Ts into more of its classrooms. The only potential roadblock – funding.

“The use of this technology has really taken off,” said Sclare. “Everyone is realizing that this is a great way to invest funds. We’re really seeing the advantage of interactive classrooms and how excited students and teachers are about the technology.”

*Anguiano, Dani, Chico Enterprise-Record, New technology at Citrus improves student learning, April 19, 2016, Retrieved at http://www.chicoer.com/social-affairs/20160419/new-technology-at-citrus-improves-student-learning

In an ongoing effort to provide the best in customer service, McDonald's in Uruguay has continually sought new ways to make the customer experience faster and more comfortable. Recently, the company sought to offer an increasingly fresh and made-to-order menu.

To accomplish this, McDonald's implemented operational changes in food production, introducing a system called "Made for You" (MFY). Under the MFY system, food products are made to order, with production beginning while the customer places his or her order with the cashier. Along with delivering fresh, high quality products, the system aims to personalize each customer request, enabling them to adjust the ingredients of each sandwich or salad.

The MFY production process required the instant transmission of orders from the cash register to the kitchen prep area, even before the customer has completed the order. Implementation of the "Made for You" kitchens called for investment in hardware and software technology to facilitate the operation – including monitors throughout the production area to display orders to the kitchen staff.

Among the many factors needed to make the Made for You kitchens a reality, the MFY operations team needed to install multiple monitors on production lines in kitchens of varying sizes and layouts, strategically placing them for convenient visibility to the employees who make orders.

Their requirements were many. The displays needed to be highly reliable and durable enough for the commercial environment, along with delivering quality images and sound. Suitable connectivity and integrated speakers were a must. According to the team’s IT & Tech Director, José Barbeito, a trio of ViewSonic monitors provided the ideal solution.

“We chose ViewSonic not for one reason, but for many,” said Barbeito. “We needed strong monitors able to undergo the rigors of a restaurant kitchen. We needed reliable equipment that not only offered quality but also a properly supported warranty. As for technology, we wanted monitors that provided us with a good image and connectivity, particularly with integrated speakers.”

Importantly, Barbeito added, the team was also looking for a product that met all
these criteria at a reasonable price. The ViewSonic VA2246m-LED, VA2451m-LED and VA2446m-LED models accomplished all of these goals, said Barbeito, and, “Because of all of this we chose ViewSonic.”

The Made for You system has been an outstanding success for McDonald’s Uruguay, improving the efficiency of employees and equipment, delivering optimal quality and reducing food production waste.

“After over a year since the system installation, the ViewSonic monitors have met our expectations,” said Barbeito. “In every McDonald’s restaurant in Uruguay, the performance has been ideal, both visibility and sound have worked correctly, and thus we are pleased with the brand.”

Everyone from employees to store managers and the IT department are satisfied with the display performance.

“As for production operations, the ViewSonic displays have made it easy for our employees, with their Full HD resolution, 10M:1 MEGA Dynamic Contrast Ratio and 5ms response time delivering continuous clear images that result in an excellent visual experience,” said Barbeito. “Also, thanks to the VESA mounting system, we were able to easily install the displays at appropriate sites, allowing for a clear uninterrupted view among the production equipment.”

Today, all McDonald’s restaurants in Uruguay use ViewSonic monitors to facilitate Made for You menus. A range of display sizes are installed according to each site’s dimensions, with larger sites using up to eight monitors in their kitchens for a total of over a hundred installations. A testament to the success of the MFY concept, as well as the ViewSonic displays: new locations will be opening soon to offer fresh, made-to-order meals, delivered real time from the register to the kitchen via ViewSonic displays.

The preferred walk-in van body supplier for UPS and FedEx and chassis manufacturer for top brands Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner, Morgan Olson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for top quality. Until recently, however, this was far from the image presented to visitors at the company’s corporate headquarters in Sturgis, Michigan. Morgan Olson marketing manager Kenn Klein recalls it like this:

“When I joined the company five years ago, our customer welcome sign was much like the white letters on a black peg board like you see at bowling alleys,” said Klein. “Every day the receptionist would get out the box of letters to change the message welcoming scheduled visitors and customers.”

President / COO Mike Ownbey directed Klein to update the lobby with the addition of a digital video display.

Klein quickly went to work to elevate visitors’ first impressions by replacing the outdated push-letter sign with a digital display to accompany the 40”x60” framed prints in the lobby that featured the company’s top customers.

Fast forward a few years and it was time for another video upgrade. Consultants hired to assist with office-wide remodeling recommended upgrading the posters to changeable back-lit panels, like those typically seen in a movie theater. This, however, concluded Klein, would simply perpetuate the ongoing problem associated with the current posters: having to constantly change the prints based on which customer was visiting.

What’s more, while the “customer-specific movie poster” concept would deliver a bit more impact, at $300-$400 apiece they were hardly a bargain.

“Our President and COO, Mike Ownbey said that at the price for static photographs of customers’ trucks, we might as well invest in digital displays that would enable us to change the messages at will while also delivering a more up-to-date impression,” said Klein. “He had been seeing dramatic video walls at trade events and he challenged me to put a multi-screen system in our large entrance hallway.”

The next objective: Finding a video wall system that could easily accommodate the need for a horizontal format to showcase the company’s line of truck bodies, while delivering outstanding image quality and ease of manageability.

In the quest to cost-effectively achieve their vision of a large, dynamically-linked video wall, Klein and IT Manager Kim Miller looked at several video wall software programs. Ultimately, said Miller, Userful presented the best features and price point:

“We chose Userful because of the great difference in cost versus the other products we reviewed.”

Additionally, one of the most important features offered by the Userful solution was creative flexibility that, as a former TV producer and cinematographer, was non-negotiable for Klein.

“We needed a system that would allow our screens to be positioned in a variety of ways, including close together or far apart,” said Klein. “The Userful system provided more creative freedom and the potential to expand by adding additional ‘zones’ downstream.”

Offering the flexibility to build video walls with up to 40 displays in both standard array or artistic layouts, along with support for multiple pre-set zones and virtually any type of content, the Userful network video wall solution was perfectly suited to meet Klein’s creative requirements.

Userful recommended the ViewSonic CDP5560-L 55" commercial LED display, which offered durability for daily use in the company’s high-traffic entry hallway and a slim 15.8mm ultra-narrow bezel for near-seamless images in large video walls, along with outstanding image quality. Another key feature, said Klein, was the ability to support multimedia content in both portrait and landscape orientations. “Our content needed to show our trucks being built,” said Klein. “And that doesn’t fit well on a vertical display.”

From there Klein and Miller created a bold, six-screen video wall, with two stacked horizontal displays flanked on either side by two vertical screens. Product, parts, service programs and customer brand information rotates on each of the vertical displays, forming an informational frame for the dramatic time lapse video of the Morgan Olson plant running across the middle horizontal space.

Impossible to miss when entering the building, Morgan Olson’s striking video wall greets visitors to the corporate headquarters with a premium look aligned with the company’s high end brand appeal. According to Klein, the impression it makes is as big as its size.

“The response so far has been huge,” said Klein. “Our customers actually stop and take selfies in front of the wall when they see their brand featured.”

Some like it so much, in fact, that they’ve contacted Klein to learn more about how he created the video wall.

“I’ve fielded phone call from customers and even suppliers that want to add this feature to their own corporate headquarters,” said Klein.

Within the company, the reaction has been equally positive. Marketing, Sales – and of course its initial advocate, the company president – all appreciate the lasting impression the video wall makes.

“From the moment Morgan Olson customers and suppliers walk in our corporate headquarters, our video wall provides an elevated visitor experience like no other,” stated Morgan Olson President/COO Mike Ownbey. “We build the most durable and dependable walk-in van work trucks in North America and our video wall reflects our quality and use of modern technologies – plus the video wall messaging makes a positive long-lasting impression with our customers, just like our walk-in vans.”

“I’ve used ViewSonic monitors in the past – in fact the one we have in the front lobby is a ViewSonic,” said Klein. “The image quality is consistently good.”

Like all new technology endeavors, there were kinks to work out. Support from Userful has been outstanding, said Klein.

“The guy we worked with on the support team at Userful was amazing. He was the Rosetta Stone for translating these languages I hadn’t spoken before.”
Current plans for the Morgan Olson video wall include regular content updates to keep it fresh, interesting and attention-grabbing for frequent visitors as well as employees – no doubt, the selfies will continue.

Having received funding from a bond initiative, the Rio School District IT Department planned to replace its outdated projectors with flat panel displays to improve upon image quality and TCO. Teachers, however, expressed concerns about how the new devices would fit into their classroom environments.

“We would have had to mount the displays around existing whiteboards and other occupied wall space,” said District Director of Technology Mike Vollmert, “In many cases the displays would have had to be mounted up so high that kids near the front of the room would have to crane their necks to see them.”

With limited space and teacher concerns about losing whiteboard and wall space, an alternate solution was called for.

"With limited wall space and lacking teacher support, an alternate solution was called for."

Teachers supported having some sort of display - but they had concerns about placement and did not want to lose whiteboard space or wall space, where they typically display student work or have other displays.

As the IT team dug into the dilemma, they discovered the ViewSonic CDE7060T, a 70’’ 10-point interactive touch LED display, which, said Vollmert, pretty much solved all their problems.

“Because it’s so much more than just an LCD TV, the CDE7060T can be used in lieu of a whiteboard, which meant we didn’t have to mount it up so high,” said Vollmert. “And having the computer already embedded in it meant we didn’t have to connect any other devices to it unless we wanted to.”

Beyond these benefits, added Vollmert, whose professional roots hail from the classroom, the PC-equipped interactive display offered a world of new teaching opportunities.

A previous ViewSonic customer familiar with the company’s reputation for reliability, Vollmert said they had no doubt that the CDE7060T would be a good product. Nonetheless, the prospect of investing in an all-new technology felt a bit risky and before making the final purchase decision the team looked at products from a number of manufacturers. The consensus, said Vollmert, was that from a price and functionality standpoint the ViewSonic CDE7060T was the best fit.

“The embedded computer was a significant factor for us,” said Vollmert. “Other manufacturers offer 10 point touch, but ViewSonic had the embedded PC and the embedded easy-to-use software, and all at a price-point that worked for us.”

Following their typical test-and-try philosophy, the IT team took a phased approach to deployment, initially piloting in 30 classrooms.

“We wanted to ensure that teachers were committed to making the most of the technology, not just treating it like a TV,” said Vollmert. “So we initially put them
into classrooms with teachers we knew would dive in and explore and share their experiences with the other teachers.”

Once the pilots had produced positive reviews, he said, the IT department told the rest of the teaching staff that they too could have one – if they were committed to using it to its fullest potential. The response was overwhelming, with virtually all of the schools’ 220 teachers wanting an interactive display for their classroom. Upon the recent completion of the final deployment phase, all have had their wish granted and are now happily using the displays.

The ensuing enthusiasm has continued to match the initial desire for the devices, with teachers and students alike using the displays in a multitude of different ways.  “It’s a terrifically multifaceted tool,” said Vollmert. “Teachers can adapt it to so many uses and they’re really using the touch capacity in creative ways that enhance what they do in the classroom.”

Among the examples he cited: Teachers can now create interactive spaces where kids then work alongside them; they can add internet content or video to enhance their lesson; and they can save any type of work used on the display and make it available to students on their Google accounts. Students similarly interact with the displays in any number of ways, such as using them to enhance presentations.

“One specific example that comes to mind is a math game a third grade teacher devised, where you have to use all 4s in an equation to come up with every number from 1 though 20. The kids got up and interacted with the board to come up with the equations. They collected the responses on the board, and then the teacher saved the entire thing and distributed it to all the kids as a Google doc so they could refer back to it. The kids had a blast – they all wanted to be the first to figure out an answer and get to write it on the giant tablet.”

An added bonus: IT staff, administrators and other teachers can walk into a classroom and use the embedded computer to log into his Google account and share information. What’s more, the utility as simply a display device is much better than their old projectors.

“Teachers don’t have to shut lights off in the room to be able to see the content,” said Vollmert. “And the resolution is better.”

As to whether he thinks excitement over the devices will wane as the novelty wears off, Vollmert had this to say:

“We’re a 1:1 district and every kid has a personal device and we’ve seen that this can happen. But when it does it’s not necessarily a bad thing. When the novelty fades that’s when we can really see how technology tools are used in all-new, transformative ways.”

For now, he said, the teachers and students at Rio School District continue to explore how to integrate the display’s functionality into their lesson plans; things will get even more exciting when they regularly use them in ways that are entirely different than what they did before, for approaches that couldn’t exist without the technology. Which, he noted, had already begun to happen.

“Because of the interactivity and the embedded PC, kids can send their work up to the screen for everyone to see and work on; they can capture video and use the interactivity to annotate it, then share with the Google groups. We couldn’t do that with our projectors. We couldn’t show a video of sea otters that kids could capture a screen shot from, then incorporate that into a student blog and write about what they learned.”

The bottom line, said Vollmert, speaking with passion as the teacher-at-heart he clearly is, is that this technology can free teachers to truly be teachers.

“With this technology I’m no longer the sole source of information for my students. I can say, go get your own information and now I’m a facilitator, their guide-in-process – helping them learn how to learn.”

Speaking with his IT hat on, Vollmert is equally pleased with the quality and performance of the hardware, as well as ViewSonic’s support.

“We’ve experienced ViewSonic’s support mechanism in the past and it’s tried and true,” he said.” And we appreciated that our sales rep, Cheryl Badley, has come out and done a couple trainings for us.”

What was initially perceived as somewhat of a calculated risk, this jump to an entirely new technology for the school district, has clearly paid off.

“I’m absolutely sure it’s worth the investment,” Vollmert said. “To be honest I haven’t seen a whole lot of technology deployments in classrooms that have had a better response.”

A one-of-a-kind 33,000 square-meter project featuring 60 businesses from the main brands operating in Uruguay, including restaurants, lounges, and leisure and entertainment venues for the entire family, the Melancía Mall & Freeshops generates substantial competition among the duty-free shops in the mall. The La Riviera Freeshop at the Melancía Mall represents one of the largest existing duty-free locations, with a total area of 4,200 square meters. This size, along with intense competition, combined to create the need to develop a space that would be sufficiently wide to house the merchandise but would not lose the human scale and overwhelm customers.

At the architectural level, said architect Michael Tyler, of JCO, the firm in charge of project development, the challenge was to develop a space wide enough to allow for full view of the facility without minimizing the importance of any one section and allowing for logical linkage of the different areas.

“We were aiming at building a facility that would neither be rambling nor look like a labyrinth and where people could have a global view upon entering,” said Tyler. “We aimed for a radial layout without a differentiated access where all the sectors would have the same level of importance.”

In addition to the layout challenges, a primary project goal was to attract and generate a flow of customers into the shop through publicity and special offers that could be seen from afar and, particularly, that would engage attention in a way that would result in people spending more time inside the store.

In previous stores of this type, said Tyler, the typical practice had been to place advertising on a backlit board with a still image. His firm recommended that this La Riviera store put LED displays in place of static posters, enabling them to display publicity for any brand in the store, at any time.

“In other words,” he said, “it won’t be just a still image with a model, but a spot covering each one of the brands.”

To achieve this dynamic ability, JCO selected ViewSonic commercial displays, purchasing fourteen CDE4200-L 42-inch Full HD LED displays and thirty-four CDE3200-L 32-inch Full HD LED displays to be used on shelving units and in aisles. Each display would then be provided content to scroll through advertising and promotions for the brands found in each section.

Tyler said that the firm chose the ViewSonic displays based on several factors. First and foremost was that they were professional-quality, with the ability to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and were backed by ViewSonic’s reputation for durability and reliability with a guaranteed product warranty. The ability to change content using a single device, by connecting a USB flash drive with the desired content, either directly or remotely, and the affordable price-point were other important considerations.

“We chose, with the support of ViewSonic, very good displays with an important feature, that is to say, the reliability to work 24/7. I opted for providing La Riviera a monitor that would not generate trouble and would be backed by the ViewSonic guarantee,” said Mr. Tyler. “For us, it was very important that ViewSonic could offer such support.”

According to Tyler, exchanging static signs for dynamic devices has been very successful for the store. At the global level, he said, the concept of using multimedia fits with the other modern elements inside the shop. In terms of generating traffic, the ability to display videos makes ads more eye-catching and attracts more people into the store, then increases the possibility of higher sales with the ability to easily and regularly change out promotions and ads. In addition, he said, the displays increase the store’s ability to generate additional advertising revenue and meet the needs of their in-store brands.

“The use of the displays inside the shop allows clients to introduce new publicity or increase their existing advertising,” said Tyler. “Now, what is being advertised starts to be like on-the-air time and instead of having an arrangement with one single brand or provider, new arrangements with providers can be entered into, thus allowing for a new way of advertising and, in turn, promoting minute after minute of special offers within the store.”

In terms of functionality, Tyler concluded, the ViewSonic displays fully meet the store’s needs and operate as expected. In fact, based on their success in all respects, La Rivera has ordered another six CDE3200-L displays to install upon their arrival.