| John
Headley, ICT Manager, has been responsible
for driving forward a progressive
strategy, using the latest technology
to help achieve the school’s
stated aim of “any time, anywhere
learning”. This has resulted
in a push to equip all classrooms
with the latest in full multi media
facilities, including an interactive
SMART Board, projector, video, DVD
and sound system.
However, whilst the technology was
welcomed with open arms, a real bugbear
for the users was the amount of remote
controls needed in each room. In fully
equipped rooms, this meant a minimum
of three remotes, and John’s
team was regularly getting phone calls
to say a remote was missing or the
batteries were dead.
“At best, this was annoying”
says John “at worst, really
disruptive to teaching. We were supplying
the latest tools for our teachers,
and once a facility is made available,
people come to rely on it. If a teacher
walks into a room with a prepared
lesson and then can’t use the
projector because the remote is missing
and it’s fixed to the ceiling,
then it causes problems.”
John decided the solution was to
look at room control facilities that
operate multiple pieces of equipment
at the touch of a button. He called
on his preferred AV provider, Smarter
Interactive, who had worked with John
to install much of the technology
in the school. The chosen solution
was the AMX 16 button room control
panels. Smarter Interactive recommended
these panels for a number of reasons.
They are extremely easy to use, with
a logical layout and colour coded
backlit buttons. Crucially, they replace
all existing remote handsets, giving
central control from one wall mounted
panel of all the room’s equipment.
This gives the ability for teachers
to walk into a classroom, press a
button marked ‘PLAY’ and
get on with the lesson.
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But it
is not just greater control that AMX
has brought to the school. John explains
“The panels have the facility
to automatically switch off projectors
at a set time. This used to be a real
headache for me, where a lesson would
finish and the teacher would forget
to turn off the projector. If it happened
on a Friday night, that would be around
60 hours used up of the lamp life.
And with projector lamps costing £200
upwards it was a large financial cost.”
Another benefit appreciated by the
school is the ability to manually
switch between inputs. John explained
the benefit of this facility. “It
means that full use can be made of
all the equipment available, in a
slick, professional manner. It gives
teachers confidence to be able to
just press a button and have a video
clip cut in, and then switch seamlessly
back to the computer, for example.”
John was so impressed with the AMX
panels that he pushed his budget to
the limit to kit out as many rooms
as possible. 16 rooms are now fully
fitted and another one about to be
ordered, and a roll out programme
planned across the remaining rooms.
And his view of Smarter Interactive
as an AV partner is equally high.
“They are superb” is his
verdict, “quite simply, they
remove all the hassle. If a projector
goes down, they replace it and sort
the problem. And they give great support
in terms of the training they supply,
which means we really make the most
of the tools we have installed”
As ICT Manager, John’s view
of the AMX panels is extremely
positive. But as he says, the real
proof of the pudding is in the reaction
from the users where the panels have
been given a unanimous thumbs up.
“The panels are a massive hit.
They give teachers confidence in the
technology and makes it accessible
to anybody using the rooms.”
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