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CASE STUDY

ViewSonic ViewBoard Displays Boost Digital Education “Revolution” in Struggling School District

CUSTOMER PROFILE

The Hoquiam School District, founded in 1891, serves over 1,600 students in the city of Hoquiam, located in western Washington state. To achieve the district’s mission of Linking Learning to Life, Hoquiam consistently strives to be a world leader in employing the latest in educational technology, curricular design, and equity and inclusion principles. The district operates three elementary schools: Emerson, Lincoln, and Central; the Hoquiam Middle School; Hoquiam High School; and an alternative learning environment, Homelink.

“Student engagement is the essential element in successful teaching. I think the most important thing teachers do is earn students’ attention. The ViewBoard displays are like a cheat code – they draw students in and kids want to get up and touch them.”

— Chris Nitti: Digital Age Coordinator, Hoquiam School District

THE CHALLENGE

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Hoquiam School District, like so many across the country, was ill-equipped to meet the needs of remote learning. To address this challenge, Superintendent Dr. Mike Villarreal charged English and technology teacher Chris Nitti with providing immediate-response support to educators that were learning to teach remotely on the fly. The following year, Dr. Villarreal promoted Nitti to Digital Age Coordinator, tasking him with determining and deploying technology to upgrade the district’s digital teaching capabilities.

“At the start of the 2021-22 school year I inherited a tech department run for 30 years by the person who started it in 1993, who ran the first five cables,” said Nitti. “Most technology was well beyond end-of-life. We didn’t have the infrastructure needed to support technology-based learning.”

The seismic changes brought by the pandemic called for a corresponding seachange in the district’s approach to education technology. Additionally, Nitti envisioned equipping the community’s young people with critical career skills.

“There’s a tech industry hungry for trained people,” said Nitti. “Along with using tech for teaching, we can give students technology skills that they can use to work remotely right from Hoquiam.”

Before this Hoquiam technology revolution could begin, Nitti and his team would have to equip teachers with the tools and training they needed to deliver on this visionary goal.

THE SOLUTION

Difficult as it was, the Covid-19 pandemic was also the spark that helped ignite the flame of the Hoquiam edtech revolution. Students needed individual devices to be successful at remote learning. Educators needed support and training in how to use these new tools.

“At the direction of Dr. Villarreal, we set out to bring the district up to 21st century digital learning standards,” said Nitti. “The first step was to tap into FCC EFC grants to procure student Chromebooks. After that, the goal was to equip classrooms with interactive displays.”

With two grants across two years, Nitti and his team created the first true 1:1 fleet. Every student now had a Chromebook less than 1 year old. Next, Nitti teamed up with KC Merchant, supervisor of the Washington State Digital Equity and Inclusion grant, and John Buyse at reseller partner Vivacity. With the support of Merchant, the district earned a substantial DEI grant. Buyse arranged demonstrations of interactive flat panel (IFP) displays from six major manufacturers.

Right away, it was clear that the ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® IFPs were a perfect fit for the district, said both Nitti and Tech Assistant Jen Thorp. The integrated myViewBoard software tools were intuitive and expansive. The touch response and image quality were outstanding. And the IT team was thrilled with the centralized management that would allow them to handle all maintenance without having to physically go to seven buildings.

“We’re a MAC district and it was notable for us that the ViewBoard displays connect with a single USB cable,” said Nitti. “We just connect them and they work. It couldn’t be more simple or efficient.”

What’s more, Nitti emphasized, was that ViewSonic was the only company that sent a team along with their demo display.

“Our sales rep, a trainer, and the ViewSonic national sales manager all came to Hoquiam. That meant a lot to us,” said Nitti.

Thrilled to move forward with this level of support, the IT team purchased 105 ViewBoard IFPs – one for every classroom, library and learning lab. That order was quickly followed by one for another 16 ViewBoard displays, for specialists and coaches.

“Everyone wanted a ViewBoard,” said Nitti. “I took a demo board to the schools, showed them what it could do, and the ViewBoard sold itself.”

THE RESULTS

The start of the 2022-23 school year was unlike any other in the history of Hoquiam. Not only did every student walk in with a personal Chromebook, virtually every teacher, coach and other educator was ready to begin engaging and educating using their ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP. This was better than Nitti had anticipated.

“Initially we planned three rollouts spanning the summer and the upcoming school year. The pandemic years were tough on our teachers and I only expected twenty percent or so to take time away from their summer plans to do extra training,” said Nitti.

To his happy surprise, 97 of the district’s 105 teachers signed up for the training needed to receive a ViewBoard at the start of the school year.

“Those that didn’t sign up had conflicts, otherwise they would have been there,” Nitti said. “If that’s not buy-in, I don’t know what is!”

Hoquiam teachers embraced the potential provided by the ViewBoard displays as they planned their curriculum for the new school year.

“We coached them to see the ViewBoard as a full ecosystem, not just a board you can write on,” said Nitti. “It’s essentially an entire classroom support system: anything teachers do on their Chromebook, iPad or phone they can throw to the screen, then several students can annotate on it. The applications are endless.”

A middle school teacher who received two ViewBoard displays to support her stations-based approach to math education exemplifies this versatility.

“This outstanding math teacher does incredible work with stations. She’s like a juggler, it’s incredible to watch,” said Nitti. “We set her up with two displays and two management accounts so that she can be logged into both at once and guide students to bounce between complementary activities on the ViewBoard displays.”

District English teachers tell Nitti that the ViewBoard displays will be a game changer, adding mobility, proximity and interactivity to lessons.

“In the past, our teachers were stuck behind their desks. Now they can display the assignment on the ViewBoard, move around the classroom to work with students individually, and direct them to interact with the board,” said Nitti.

Beyond core subjects, educators throughout the district are finding unique ways to use the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays to increase engagement.

For example, said Nitti, not only can the high school athletic coaches review recorded game tape with students on the large ViewBoard screen, they can stop the recording, annotate on top of the video, then keep this record for reference.

“The technology is enabling things that weren’t possible before,” said Nitti, “The coaches say, it’s just like ESPN! They’re certain this will amp up engagement in sports.”

An elementary PE teacher that works with mobility-impaired students asked Nitti to create an app for the ViewBoard that turns it into an interactive target board. Students learning to throw would receive a visual reward when they successfully hit the target. While Nitti acknowledges that this is a bit of an “out there use case,” he has no doubts about making it a reality. He knows that the ViewBoard displays can take it.

“When evaluating displays, I always do what I call a ‘knock test,’” he said. “The ViewSonic ViewBoard IFPs have the toughest surface I’ve come across. I can pound on it and it does no damage.”

Engagement is the common denominator of the countless ways in which Hoquiam educators are using (and plan to use) the ViewBoard displays.

“Student engagement is the essential element in successful teaching,” said Nitti. “I think the most important thing teachers do is earn students’ attention. The ViewBoard displays are like a cheat code – they draw students in and kids want to get up and touch them.”

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CASE STUDY

ViewSonic Direct View LED Display Brings Efficiency, Reliability and Visibility to Career Tech Presentations

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery Public Schools is a large district serving over 30,000 students in 27 preschools, 32 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, and 10 high schools, according to US News & World Report. The Career Tech Department provides career and technical instruction to prepare students for life after high school, whether that may include postsecondary education, employment, or a combination of both.

“[The ViewSonic Direct View LED is] a showstopper. There’s no better word for it than that. When I meet visitors at the front office, which is maybe 105 feet from the display wall, I always get astonished comments. It’s vivid and clear even from there. Even the students stop and talk about how amazing it is.”

— Auburn Brown, Career Tech Bookkeeper

THE CHALLENGE

The Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies (MPACT), the career tech building for the district, is a hub of activity, where students, staff, trainers, and recruiters frequently gather to attend and deliver presentations.

“We host countless seminars, training, PD, and recruitment presentations every month,” said Career Tech Director Todd Davis. “The process for facilitating these activities was very cumbersome. We had to go to another building across town to get a projector, screen and sound board, set them up, then quickly return it all so that it was available for other users.”

Not only was this incredibly inefficient, but with larger meetings and presentations not everyone could see the screen from the back of the room, added Davis.

Inspiration hit as it often does, when one least expects it.

“I was out to dinner during my daughter’s national volleyball tournament and saw what I thought would be the ideal solution,” said Davis. “It was a bunch of TVs put together into a screen so big you could just about see it from another state.”

Davis immediately sent a photo of the image to the CTE team’s Bookkeeper Auburn Brown whose responsibilities include sourcing and purchasing technology to support the district’s dozens of CTE instructors.

“I take care of around 80 teachers and two education specialists,” said Brown. “So when my boss texted me a photo of a huge video screen and said ‘I want this for our commons area,’ I started doing the research right away.”

THE SOLUTION

The large display that sparked Brown’s interest was a traditional video wall created by lining up several TV-like monitors into a grid. Not realizing there would be an alternative, Brown initially assumed that this was the format they would use.

“As I researched manufacturers, I made sure to look at ViewSonic because we use their 65-inch ViewBoard interactive displays here at Career Tech and the district has purchased many of them as well,” said Brown. “I had no idea that there was an option like their Direct View LED displays, which are huge and give a much cleaner look than the other video walls.”

Brown narrowed the options to a few brands and sought advice and pricing from their rep at reseller partner InCare. When she saw the price of the ViewSonic^® Direct View LED display she was thrilled.

“I expected it to be more expensive than the video walls that didn’t look as good,” she said. “Going with the ViewSonic Direct View LED just made sense based on my research. It was bigger, had no lines breaking it up, and it was an easier to manage all-in-one solution.”

She took her recommendation that they purchase a 135” ViewSonic Direct View LED display to Davis.

“Auburn said to me, ‘I think we can do a whole lot better than a bunch of TVs lined up together,’” said Davis. “When I saw the ViewSonic display, I absolutely agreed.”

THE RESULTS

Installed in the center’s commons area, which can seat up to 100 people, the ViewSonic Direct View LED has been a big hit. After over a year of use, Brown and Davis can confidently say that the eye-catching display has exceeded their initial hopes for the presentation space – from its visual appeal to its functional benefits.

“It’s a showstopper,” said Brown. “There’s no better word for it than that. When I meet visitors at the front office, which is maybe 105 feet from the display wall, I always get astonished comments. It’s vivid and clear even from there. Even the students stop and talk about how amazing it is.”

When it comes down to utility, the ViewSonic Direct View Display has more than served its initial purpose.

“It has saved Todd a lot of time, not having to go to the downtown central office to sign equipment in and out every time we have a presentation,” said Brown. “I love it because no one has to hassle with it, it just works and looks amazing.”

Now, presentations of all kinds are reliably crisp, clear, and large enough for everyone in the room to get a good view, no matter where they’re seated.

“We use it year, round, even in the summer,” said Brown. “Presenters include trainers from the State Department of Education, military recruiters, our CTE instructors, and more. And if there are no meetings scheduled and no announcements that we need to run, we’ll put up music, football games or other content that the students and staff enjoy when passing by.”

Everyone is so happy with the display, in fact, that as of this writing, Brown was working on a purchase order to obtain one for their sister center, a magnet high school that focuses on career tech education.

“The advertising design teacher there fell in love with it and convinced us to get one for his school,” said Brown. “They’re going to install it in their ‘Crossroads,’ an intersection of two long hallways that pretty much every student walks through during the day, and run Career Tech announcements and other information.”

LD216-251 Direct View LED

216" Display, 1920 x 1080 Resolution, 600-nit Brightness, 24/7

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ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® Cast Button

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CASE STUDY

High School Boosts Pride and Communication with Seamless 216-Inch ViewSonic Direct View LED Display

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Located in Will County, Illinois, the Joliet Township High School District 204 (JTHS) encompasses Joliet Central High School and Joliet West High School. Founded in 1899 it is one of the area’s oldest school districts. Four regional middle school districts attend JTHS: Joliet Public Schools District 86, Rockdale School District 84, Troy School District 30-C, and Elwood School District 203.

“It sounds corny but when they first saw it pretty much everyone was in awe of how it looked. It is such a superior product than what was installed at Central. Everyone from the principal to the support staff was excited to see a display that big with no seams.”

— Matt Kellett, Director of Information Technology Services

THE CHALLENGE

The cross-town rivalry is classic, perpetually played out at high school sporting events and club competitions. At the Joliet Township High School District (JTHS), the rivalry between Joliet Central High School (Central) and Joliet West High School (West) goes beyond athletics and debate.

It began in 2016, with the completion of Central’s expansive new Student Center, which included a large video wall made of a 4x4 grid of 55-inch displays. Used for daily announcements about clubs, sports, tutoring opportunities and more, the space was also used after hours for meetings and presentations, according to JTHS Information Technology Services Director Matt Kellett.

“It’s been very useful for community meetings and professional development, as well as for student-focused content,” added Wendy Davis, JTHS Network and Media Manager. “Folks at West were quickly saying, ‘We want a cool video wall.’”

The true level of competitive intensity over the video wall is anyone’s guess, but it’s not hard to imagine students and educators at Central boasting about it to their counterparts at West. While it took a few years to amass the funds, as soon as they were able, district administrators – committed to equity between the schools – authorized implementation of a video wall at West. Kellett and Davis began researching display technology.

THE SOLUTION

ViewSonic was top of mind when the IT team began looking into display wall solutions. Three years prior they had outfitted libraries at both high schools with ViewSonic® ViewBoard® interactive displays, chosen from a review of several manufacturers.

“At that time the ViewSonic interactive displays were the most affordable and had the most desirable features. We ended up also putting them in spaces around the school because everyone wanted them,” said Davis. “Little did we know when we started looking for a video wall that it would be the same story this time around.”

Once again, the team looked at several options, and once again the ViewSonic product won out – and by no small margin, Kellett and Davis agreed.

“When we saw the ViewSonic presentation it was almost like we didn’t need to look at anyone else,” said Davis. “They had the best price by quite a bit and the other three we looked at were the old-style walls that put together several standard displays. The ViewSonic solution was completely seamless.”

It was like the proverbial apples to oranges. On the one hand, traditional video walls made up of large monitors with visible frames that required separate components and on-going maintenance and calibration. On the other, a system of thin and light, perfectly pre-calibrated 12x12-inch panels that install quickly and deliver a huge and completely seamless image in an all-in-one, easy to maintain solution.

The team chose the largest among several available sizes: the ViewSonic 216” LD216-251 1080p Direct View LED Display.

“Sure, ViewSonic had the lowest bid, but the Direct View Display was also the best choice for so many reasons,” said Davis. “It is truly an all-in-one turnkey solution that also was the best-looking of all the options.”

To streamline connectivity and enhance security, the team also purchased ViewSonic ViewBoard Cast Buttons (Model VS18189), which they affectionately call the “pucks.”

THE RESULTS

As expected, installation went smoothly and was completed in less than a full workday.

“We were thrilled with how truly all-inclusive this display is. For setup all we had to do was hook up a network drop and connect remotely. It was seamless,” said Kellett. “And the installation process was interesting to see. First they leveled and attached the brackets, then after that adding the LED panels went very quickly.”

The following week the massive screen was unveiled to West High School staff at an institute day.

“It sounds corny but when they first saw it pretty much everyone was in awe of how it looked,” said Davis. “It is such a superior product than what was installed at Central. Everyone from the principal to the support staff was excited to see a display that big with no seams.”

According to Davis, the display is in use from the start of the school day to well past the last bell on most days.

“During the day it’s used as digital signage, like the one at Central, displaying announcements like sports schedules and extracurricular opportunities, and giving shout outs to students,” she said. “After school teachers use it during club meetings, then after that we often hold community meetings in the space.”

Beyond looking downright amazing, the ViewSonic Direct View LED display has provided enhanced security and features that save time and extend staff resources.

“One terrific feature is the ability to connect in someone who’s remote by giving them a URL link and access code,” said Kellett. “Another great feature that increases our security and saves time is the ViewSonic ViewBoard Cast Button, which plugs into the display and enables visitors to connect to the display without having to access our network.”

Kellett added that the IT team is looking forward to the reduced (and easier) maintenance of the ViewSonic Direct View LED compared to their “old school” video wall.

“With our older video wall if a screen goes bad it’s a major issue. We have to call someone in to take it out and replace it,” he said. “This involves a lot of time leveling the screen and even once it’s positioned perfectly it will never look completely right because it’s newer than the other screens and the calibration will be off.”

By contrast, the ViewSonic Direct LED system came with spare panels right off the bat, said Kellett, and each one is perfectly calibrated in the factory and never needs adjusting.

“Swapping out the LED panels is fast and easy. You need a lift, but beyond that anyone can do it, and this is going to save us time and headaches,” said Kellett.

“For example, say we have an after-hours presentation scheduled. A tech will assess the display and make sure everything is working perfectly. If they need to swap out a panel they can do it in five minutes. With the stacked display wall, you’d be out of luck – you’d have to call in a third party and cancel the presentation.”

Kellett noted that the ViewSonic Cast Button is also a signifi cant timesaver that reduces staff tech support.

“For me the pucks are a huge benefit. With our old video wall, when we have a visitor come in there are often problems with them accessing the screen,” he said. “The puck makes everything seamless and provides peace of mind.”

The list of time-savers goes on, not the least of which is the seamlessness of the LED Display as an all-in-one solution, said Kellett and Davis.

“We didn’t add a single third-party product to this solution: not a media player or anything else was needed,” said Kellett. “This cuts down the components that could require maintenance, adds to the overall system reliability, and keeps this beautiful, thin display clean and aesthetically uncluttered.”

The video wall at Central, by contrast, requires a separate computer and separate software to run it as a digital display.

“At Central there are more components to the system,” said Kellett. “And when there are more components there are more potential points of failure.”

Once more we can imagine that the competitive pride at West continuing to grow, as according to Davis, many area schools have reached out to arrange for viewings.

“The tech director from a neighboring school district was at West for a sporting event, saw our huge display, and is considering it for his school,” said Davis, “We get so many people from the community and surrounding region admiring it.”

A major win in our imagined battle of the video walls came with the annual State of the District event, at which the superintendent hosts community members and area business.

“The event was scheduled to be at Central, and when the organizers saw the ViewSonic Direct View LED wall at West, they mentioned that it was unfortunate that we did not have the same display at both campus, noting that the bar graphs and other content would show up better on the seamless display,” said Kellett.

And so the rivalry goes on. Kellett and Davis, of course, support both schools and are neutral observers, but one thing is clear: When it comes to big screen tech, West is currently in the lead.

“It’s truly outstanding in all the ways we’ve talked about,” said Kellett. “Plus, the colors are so vibrant, they just pop. In this, too, we have found the ViewSonic Direct View LED display to be superior to a traditional video wall.”

LD216-251 Direct View LED

216" Display, 1920 x 1080 Resolution, 600-nit Brightness, 24/7

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VB-WPS-001

ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® Cast Button

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CASE STUDY

Workforce Training Center Supports XR with ViewSonic 135” Direct View LED Display and 86” ViewBoard Interactive Displays

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson, Pearl, Utica, and Vicksburg. Encompassing Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Rankin County, and Warren County, the College is staffed by over 700 student-focused faculty that serve over 25,000 students annually with an 18:1 student-to-teacher ratio. The college offers 447 academic courses guaranteed to transfer to Mississippi universities as well as over 70 career and technical program options.

“Every day we get interested visitors. The first thing they say is invariably, ‘Wow!’ We get that over and over. The huge 135-inch ViewSonic display is doing exactly what we wanted – drawing in potential partners and showing them what we do in a dramatic way.”

— Corey Durham, Workforce Systems Administrator

THE CHALLENGE

The Workforce Division of Hinds Community College (HCC) aligns community members with local jobs and fulfills training needs for local industry and business partners. Job seekers receive workforce training, assessment/testing, and adult basic and continuing education. Community businesses gain an educated and well-trained workforce flowing out of the Division’s programs. This synergistic relationship strengthens regional commerce and community by helping retain, grow, and attract businesses and industries.

In 2020 HCC joined an expansive development project that would transform a historic building in Vicksburg, Mississippi into a state-of-the-art accelerated technology transfer center. The Sen. Thad Cochran Mississippi Center for Innovation & Technology (MCITy) was scheduled to be fully operational in Spring 2023. The HCC Workforce division agreed to use their space to showcase the rapidly evolving world of eXtended Reality (XR) for education and training, with the goal of opening as soon as possible.

“Our vision was to develop a space that would bring awareness to the use of AR/VR for employee training and put it in the hands of local business and industry, as well as to offer classes in XR content development,” said Workforce Systems Administrator Corey Durham. “Businesses are facing a constant revolving door of employees and they can’t keep up with the training needs. When companies use XR to help prepare workers they conserve resources and reduce turnover.”

With that vision in place, Associate Vice President of Workforce David Creel tasked Durham with determining the technology needed to transform it into the functional HCC Emerging Technologies Training Center.

THE SOLUTION

The scope of the plan encompassed four distinct areas. A central demo center would showcase the capabilities of XR for training; this space required a large display that would make visible the modules trainees would experience through their headsets. Three labs would serve as facilities for teaching AR content development and providing specific employee training experiences; these rooms needed interactive displays to facilitate engagement and collaborative learning. All of this hardware needed to be reliable, commercial grade tech capable of meeting the Center’s anticipated high demand.

To source this tech, Durham partnered with Dan Wilkins from technology solutions provider RJ Young.

“Dan is phenomenal at matching the utility of the space and pairing equipment to achieve all the desired outcomes,” said Durham. “I told him what we wanted to accomplish and he was able to find what we needed.”

Wilkins brought in large screen and interactive displays from several manufacturers for Durham to test out. According to Durham, the ViewSonic products clearly stood out from the rest.

“One thing that sold me on the ViewSonic products was the versatility of the equipment – how much we could do with it and how integrated it could be,” he said. “We wanted modularity and integrated products from a sole provider and ViewSonic was the only manufacturer we looked at that had everything we needed.”

The demonstration room called for a large and eye-catching display to draw in visitors and quickly raise awareness for the impact of XR. A 135” ViewSonic LD135-151 Direct View LED display provided this critical focal point. Two 86” ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® IFP8662 high-performance 4K touchscreen displays in the back of the room provided additional training and learning stations.

The classroom labs required interactivity and the versatility to use the displays vertically for presentations and training, and horizontally as a tabletop for collaborative design development. These rooms were outfitted with the 86” ViewBoard IFP8662 interactive displays mounted on ViewSonic VB-STND-003 motorized trolley carts with 90-degree tilt.

THE RESULTS

The Hinds Community College Emerging Technologies Training Center opened its doors with a ribbon cutting ceremony December 7, 2022. Shortly thereafter the Workforce Division began hosting its first classes. Interest from local enterprise has been non-stop. Students, trainees and visitors alike are treated to a continuous flow of vibrant, rolling content on the showcase display: from ads and publication outtakes to clips from HCC’s VR training content.

“Every day we get interested visitors,” said Durham, “The first thing they say is invariably, ‘Wow!’ We get that over and over. The huge 135-inch ViewSonic display is doing exactly what we wanted – drawing in potential partners and showing them what we do in a dramatic way.”

Once they see what we do, Durham added, they ask, ‘What can we do with this? How can we leverage this technology?’ It’s all so new and innovative that it can be hard to wrap your mind around it initially.

One of the Center’s first partnerships involved augmenting the Colleges’ Diesel Equipment Technology Program.

“Potential employees tend to envision being covered head-to-toe in grease, which isn’t very appealing, so we partnered with local developers to build a VR experience to show them what this job is really like,” said Durham. “Our VR training lets prospects walk the shop floor and see how clean it is, along with learning how to perform the work. It helps them determine whether this is something they can see themselves doing.”

Students learn how to develop augmented reality content in the Center’s lab spaces, using the 86-inch ViewBoard interactive displays to collaborate and create. Integrated conferencing equipment enables companies to virtually teach extended reality courses, while the ability to cast content onto the screens lets students and instructors easily share content.

“Again, it was this versatility that really drew us to the ViewSonic products. They had all the functionality we needed – the content casting, big screen conferencing capabilities and the mobile cart, not to mention the gorgeous 135-inch display,” said Durham. “The smooth touchscreen response has provided an incredible experience for students working on 3D modelling, especially when using it horizontally like a table. Everything has been ideal.”

This success has been replicated at Hind’s Rankin campus, with a similarly outfitted XR-focused space.

“We only had one room to work with, but we packed in as much as we could, using the blueprint we created for the Vicksburg Center.” said Durham. “It has a ViewSonic 135-inch display and the same lab capabilities, with an 86-inch ViewSonic interactive display.

It was a relief to see everything come together so well, Durham acknowledged, expressing thanks ViewSonic and RJ Young for their support. Clearly a huge boon to the region, the HCC Emerging Technologies Training Center provides exactly the mutually-beneficial relationship among students, businesses and workforce trainees that is at the heart of the Workforce Division’s mission.

LD135-151 Direct View LED

135" Display, 1920 x 1080 Resolution, 600-nit Brightness, 24/7

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ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP8662 Interactive Display

86" 4K Touch Enabled ViewBoard Smart Display

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ViewSonic VB-STND-003 Motorized Trolley Cart

90-degree tilting for tabletop mode, Integrated tray for pens and other items, ADA Compliant

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CASE STUDY

Indonesian Luxury Hotel Chooses ViewSonic Direct View LED Display Kit for State-of-the-Art AV Solutions Upgrade

CUSTOMER PROFILE

The Gaia Hotel Bandung is a 5-star hotel located in West Java, Indonesia. Modern accommodations include 280 rooms and world-class facilities perfect for meetings, weddings, and conferences. Gaia Hotel Bandung aims to accommodate its guests with luxurious amenities and to become a leading brand in Indonesia’s hospitality industry.

“With the All-in-One Direct View LED Display Kit (LDS135-151), the challenges of mobility, flexibility, and connectivity are easily answered. ViewSonic’s LDS135-151 is a fantastic and innovative solution.”

— Subakti Wangsanegara, Managing Director of Gaia Hotels & Resorts

THE CHALLENGE

To provide the best experience for its guests, the hotel needed new digital signage solutions and AV equipment to be used during its various events. The hotel found that most solutions and traditional LCD video walls provided limited screen sizes and were unable to deliver seamless viewing experiences.

In addition, because different events are held in different rooms and locations throughout the hotel property, fixed video walls lacked the flexibility needed for each space. Installing would require extensive effort and investment, not to mention the downtime needed to renovate the venue. What’s more, most solutions are not equipped with professional speakers and would need to be connected to external audio devices, which also takes additional time and cost to set up. Considering all these issues, Gaia Hotel needed a comprehensive solution that could deliver stunning visuals and powerful audio while remaining simple to operate and install.

THE SOLUTION

The Gaia Hotel Bandung found exactly what it needed in the ViewSonic^® LDS135-151 Direct View LED Display Kit. Thanks to an included flight case, motorized mobile cart and convenient foldable 135” screen, this all-in-one solution delivers for big-screen messaging right out of the box. With its foldable screen design and 360° silent wheels, the display can fit in elevators and be effortlessly moved from one floor to another, and from venue to venue.

The hotel deployed the Direct View LED in its ballroom and conference rooms.  The display’s huge 135” screen, 1080p Full HD resolution and 120% Rec.709 wide color gamut delivered stunning, larger-than-life images for different events and business presentations. In addition, built-in Harman Kardon speakers provided theater-level audio that was perfect for celebrations and parties at the hotel.

Finally, the display also offers a great user experience. Wireless content sharing solutions enable content to be conveniently streamed from mobile devices onto the display, and the embedded operation system and Wi-Fi allows users to work in a familiar interface.

THE RESULTS

The ViewSonic LDS135-151 Direct View LED Display Kit was an incredible AV upgrade for Gaia Hotel Bandung’s world-class facilities. Not only did the solution enhance the sharing of ideas and information for business use, but it also created memorable and inspirational experiences for all types of events.

Thanks to the all-in-one design of the kit, installation and configuration was quick and easy. Already pre-assembled, the display can be used instantly after unpacking, immediately minimizing costs and saving time and labor. The foldable screen and 360° wheels make moving effortless, so no matter where an event is held, the hotel enjoyed the benefits of flexible setup, while guests were blown away by an immersive audiovisual experience.

“With the All-in-One Direct View LED Display Kit (LDS135-151), the challenges of mobility, flexibility, and connectivity are easily answered,” said Subakti Wangsanegara, Managing Director of Gaia Hotels & Resorts. “ViewSonic’s LDS135-151 is a fantastic and innovative solution.”

ViewBoard IFP8650

86" interactive display

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VPC25-W33-P1

ViewBoard OPS-C-i5 slot-in PC

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myViewBoard Suite

Full software suite includes secure cloud storage, multiple presentation options, digital whiteboarding and more.

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CASE STUDY

Colegio San Luis Maristas - Barranco Engages Students with ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Founded in 1923 as one of ten Catholic schools in Peru, the Brarranco branch of the Colegio San Luis Maristas serves students from kindergarten through high school.

The founders of the school were heavily infl uenced by the teachings of St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Catholic saint who was devoted to education. Today, there are over 900 students currently enrolled at the Colegio San Luis Maristas – Barranco campus.

"One of the benefits of these displays is that they combine the best of both hybrid and in-person classroom setups. Educators can access Zoom, Google Drive, OneDrive and other popular applications to create a richer learning experience.”

— Renzo Urresty, High School Communication Teacher.

THE CHALLENGE

In 2021, administrators were tasked with preparing their campus for the return of in-person learning. Although it had been less than two years since students had started learning remotely, in that time, the learning landscape in Peru had shifted dramatically. Students had become accustomed to using computers, laptops and other devices during lessons rather than just learning from whiteboards and textbooks.

Administrators began to seek out solutions that would work cross-functionally with their existing devices and educational software programs that the teachers had adopted. Additionally, administrators were also seeking a solution with features that would enhance learning, such as QR code scanning, questionnaire management and interactive quizzes.

“Children could not go back to traditional learning. They had already been studying through their displays for quite some time. They were used to screens already so the best decision was to look for an alternative for their continued interaction and participation in their pedagogical development in the classroom,” said Renzo Urresty, a communications teacher at the Colegio San Luis Maristas.

According to Maria del Carmen Marini, a fellow kindergarten and first grade teacher, “It’s not easy to be in a classroom in front of 40 students from a different generation who are more familiar with the technology than the teachers.”

In 2019, chalk and whiteboards were still heavily in use at the school. Administrators were mindful that some educators struggled with newer forms of technology and their ultimate solution needed to provide training and support to help get their staff up to speed.

THE SOLUTION

After weeks of deliberation, the Colegio San Luis Maristas ultimately selected ViewSonic to equip 29 classrooms with 75” ViewBoard® IFP7550-3 interactive displays and accompanying WMK-047-2 fixed wall mount brackets. 14 displays and brackets were to be sent to its elementary school, 10 to its secondary school and five to its kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, educators also received myViewBoard® entity accounts and access to training so that they could make the most of their new devices.

“One of the benefits of these displays is that they combine the best of both hybrid and in-person classroom setups. Educators can access Zoom, Google Drive, OneDrive and other popular applications to create a richer learning experience,” said Urresty.

Another benefit of using ViewSonic products is the ease of setup and deployment. Although the ViewBoard interactive displays arrived on February 28, the displays were installed and set up by the time students started school in April.

THE RESULTS

Since the Colegio San Luis Maristas installed its ViewBoard interactive displays and implemented training, educators reported a significant increase in student engagement and interest in lessons. At the kindergarten level, teachers have been impressed by their students’ ability to learn and interact with this new technology.

“The youngest children have had two years of virtual learning and have adapted naturally to these tools and games that enable them to leverage displays and get actively involved in their own learning. During a lesson, students can take turns leaving once they’re done and the screen can be split into three sections, resulting in high interaction,” explained Marini.

ViewSonic educational solutions have also helped to reduce inequality as well. Students in higher grades no longer need to purchase a printer and ink to complete their homework – a proposition that is as expensive as it is unreliable. Thanks to the ViewSonic companion app, students can synchronize their devices with a simple QR code. Students can then answer questions, share content and get information on lessons and coursework.

The Colegio San Luis Maristas was pleased to fi nd that student performance improved in multiple areas following the adoption of ViewSonic myViewBoard^® software.

“The Colegio San Luis Maristas has excelled in leveraging the benefi ts of inclass interactivity and teacher training. Educating teachers has in turn enabled them to connect to today’s students – who are extremely savvy when it comes to interactive experiences. ViewSonic ViewBoard displays encourage students to step outside of the realm of rote learning and memorization and pivot to engaging, interactive lessons that simulate all of their senses and enhance student involvement. This is a defi nitive step forward for modernizing the Colegio San Luis Maristas,” said Alex Carlos, ViewSonic Territory Manager for Peru, Columbia and Ecuador.

ViewBoard IFP8650

86" interactive display

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VPC25-W33-P1

ViewBoard OPS-C-i5 slot-in PC

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myViewBoard Suite

Full software suite includes secure cloud storage, multiple presentation options, digital whiteboarding and more.

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CASE STUDY

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) Finds Versatile Hybrid Education Solution in ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays

SCHOOL

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) was founded in 1994 and has been a member of Laureate International Universities, the largest network of private universities in the world, since September 2004. UPC’s vision is to be at the forefront of higher education for its academic excellence and innovation. UPC currently has over 60,000 students, 58 undergraduate programs and more than 20 graduate programs across four campuses in Lima, Peru.

"We decided to use the ViewBoard interactive displays because they gave us the ease of connecting any type of device. It was also from one of the few brands that could provide the equipment quickly during the pandemic, coupled with our trust in ViewSonic and the relationship we had already built”

— SILVANA BALAREZO, UPC DIGITAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE MANAGER

THE CHALLENGE

Following the pandemic, UPC leaders wanted to foster a return to in-person education, without losing the technology literacy they had gained after two years of lockdown.

“We were looking for a technological proposal that would not be complex for teachers to use or distract them from their teaching process, and we wanted a technology that could be feasible over time to take advantage of all the lessons learned by teachers and students,” says Silvana Balarezo, Digital Learning Experience Manager at UPC.

UPC had already been using ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® interactive displays in academic environments, creative rooms and a pilot student project which still continues today.

“We decided to use the ViewBoard interactive displays because they gave us the ease of connecting any type of device. It was also from one of the few brands that could provide the equipment quickly during the pandemic, coupled with our trust in ViewSonic and the relationship we had already built,” Balarezo said.

One of UPC’s main objectives was that students benefit from any education mode. If a student attended face-to-face lessons, they should feel that it was worth coming to the campus, and an online student should feel as if they were inside the classroom sharing the same experience as their classmates, with no need to come to the physical classroom. 

This is the reason why UPC adopted the Hyflex concept in which hybrid classrooms are designed to function as physical, 100% remote or both, without affecting education quality or the learning experience in thanks to the equipment used.

“Our mission was to make professors feel comfortable in the classroom. We didn’t want them to feel that they were in a recording studio,” said Balarezo. “The classroom needed to have the technological tools to motivate learning and support collaborative activities between face-to-face and online students.”

THE SOLUTION

ViewSonic set up 72 classrooms with ViewBoard IFP8650 86” Ultra HD 4K displays, along with VPC25-W33-P1 slot-in PCs with Windows 10 Pro, and Viewboard Cast™ software for Windows licenses. This setup allowed students and teachers to make wireless presentations from any of their devices to the displays using a licensed application.

In addition, UPC added wireless physical classroom microphones for teachers and students, a pro camera for streaming and a secondary display so that the teacher can view and manage remote students. This very successful layout was designed after taking into account UPC’s previous experiences with online and hybrid classrooms.

“We should highlight that the ViewSonic slot-in PCs, which are installed on the back of the ViewBoard display, deliver computing power without the traditional wiring required to connect a PC,” said Balarezo. “This provides a user-friendly environment for professors to manage the display, the online sessions, and the use of online classrooms and videoconferences.” 

In addition, a teacher certification process was implemented for the ViewBoard displays. UPC currently has 200 certified professors and 800 teachers undergoing the certification process. 

“Our professors were initially apprehensive because of what we had experienced during the pandemic, but once classes started, students also accepted the new education mode. Today, faculty members encourage diversified student interaction in the classroom, including online and face-to-face student groups and work, in addition to promoting autonomous learning,” said Balarezo. 

THE RESULTS

Students highly value the possibility of choosing between face-to-face or online learning, with the same advantages and benefits in either learning mode. 

Professors value the convenience and agility with which they work using the ViewBoard interactive displays, including the myViewBoard^® Whiteboard software for highlighting and creating content, which helps to provide better presentations. 

“Having a group of face-to-face and online students provides a lot of flexibility to interact. It is essential for the development of autonomous learning and also for students to feel engaged and identify with the university,” said Elías Neira, Education History and Philosophy Professor at UPC. 

ViewBoard IFP8650

86" interactive display

Learn More

VPC25-W33-P1

ViewBoard OPS-C-i5 slot-in PC

Learn More

myViewBoard Suite

Full software suite includes secure cloud storage, multiple presentation options, digital whiteboarding and more.

Learn More