Ise 2022: how to educate when hybrid learning becomes the norm

The visit to Ise 2022 provide endless opportunities to explore the latest technologies for education and for schools to ensure that students acquire knowledge and participate from different locations, with solutions that facilitate the adoption of a hybrid learning strategy.

Technology for the field of education continues to show a magnificent performance for the professional audiovisual sector. The tools already consolidated, such as interactive displays, document cameras and PTZ/web cameras continue to be in high demand, while those that allow hybrid learning, such as collaboration tools, UC solutions and audio in the classroom, they are also driving investment.

Bring all of this together in an intuitive solution that provides the same experience to learners, regardless of your location, is the goal of many institutions, while the hybrid learning seeks to become the norm.

As he explains Alexandra Parlour, Director of Educational Marketing at Sony Professional Displays and Solutions in Europe, “a hybrid learning strategy, focused on distance learning, will be key for universities. In addition, technologies that capture clear, high-quality audio along with crisp video, and that allow teachers to offer interactive activities and seminars will be essential to offer the best possible immersion to students, either remotely or on-site. Our recent research on hybrid learning revealed that the 79% of students across Europe believe their university experience would improve if funds were invested in online and hybrid learning technologies”.

for Madhav Jain, insights manager – education of Sennheiser, “educational institutions need to ensure that students can learn and participate from different locations. The adoption of hybrid learning and new technologies to deliver courses has been a vital factor, added to the flexibility to adapt them to changing requirements. The hybrid model also opens up new perspectives for attracting remote students”.

Audiovisual tools

As universities deepen this modality of teaching, projectors and screens will be needed more than ever to deliver creative content in the classroom and engaging courses. While students resume collaboration, the quality of images and content are even more crucial elements to ensure that everyone can see the details and participate in the same way.

“Interactive displays are especially useful because they offer touch capability and integration with the most popular video conferencing software, like Zoom and Microsoft Teams -adds Till Gotterbarm, product management and strategic partnerships EMEA Avocor-. This makes it easy for educators and students to easily connect and share ideas from anywhere.. These screens also allow them to share annotations in real time., cloud-based, with all members of a class or study group”.

In this line, Jain adds that “platforms like Canvas and Blackboard are mixing with real-time conferencing that brings together students and faculty in the classroom with remote participants.. Technologies that can help deliver a seamless hybrid learning experience are paramount. Ceiling microphones also encourage a very natural interaction between physical and virtual participants., which makes conferences and seminars seem real to everyone”.

Digital transformation

While students have been willing to embrace hybrid learning, the pandemic has also had an impact on how teachers respond to technology and their place in the classroom..

Parlour adds that “the way teachers view technology in the classroom has changed: before, most were reluctant to be recorded on video, and now they use it to their advantage. Your needs have changed significantly”.

How Gotterbarm expands, “the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of higher education. Colleges and universities are finding new ways to enable faculty and students to teach and learn remotely., implementing technologies that support collaboration and updating policies to support a more flexible learning experience”.

Specifically, he cites the example of the Barking and Dagenham Adult School, East London, that was in the process of technological updating when the pandemic arrived.

The goal was to install solutions that offered an open platform for working with legacy applications., in the classroom and at a distance, to offer blended learning options. This need was reinforced in April 2020, when all learning moved to the Internet.

“When the restrictions were imposed, the university was able to activate distance learning overnight through our Teams platform to continue teaching. We ensure that no student is excluded, offering students who lacked internet access dongles wireless and webcams so teachers could continue to visually interact with students”, Explains Aujla Jagdeep, school IT director.

The center maintained the 90% of their classes during the first wave of restrictions, while other London local authorities had to completely switch off adult learning programmes. Below, adapted to a blended learning situation while varying constraints with an adaptive AV solution, able to deliver high-impact lessons virtually and face-to-face.

“Decision-makers understand that teachers must be able to move seamlessly between distance and face-to-face teaching to remain productive, says Gotterbarm.. And it is precisely collaboration technologies that can sustain this transition., replicating the face-to-face experience through video display technology, and vice versa”.

Looking to the future, Parlour adds that “given that the traditional educational environment was forcibly rewritten during the pandemic, we will continue to see a real evolution in the way we serve students, both on and off campus, from here on out. Technology has supported us at all times, and will continue to be a critical component for students to enjoy and learn at the university of their choice”.

For its part, Jaid concludes that “the hybrid model is here to stay. Virtual learning is a potential source of additional revenue and a key component of strategic plans for academic continuity and resilience of educational institutions. The classroom of the future will make education accessible to everyone, anywhere, either supporting students with disabilities or integrating remote students into courses and classes. Hybrid events will continue to play an important role, while the face-to-face experience for students will not be ignored either.”.

Digital learning at ISE 2022

Available in the Unified Communications and Educational Technology Zone of the pavilion 2 of Fira de Barcelona, Ise 2022 host exhibitors from across the education technology landscape: from interactive displays and software, to wireless presentation and collaboration systems and more.

In the rest of the fair you can also experience the latest in projection technology, digital signage, audio solutions and everything you need to create a fluid learning space, collaborative and interactive.

Attendees can register in the Digital Learning Summit, that will take place on 2 February; a half-day event to examine strategies, the learning models and trends that are driving the deployment of these technologies in universities, schools, corporate entities and training centres.

Mike Blackman, executive director of Integrated Systems Events, explains that “by constituting a physical and face-to-face event, we are in a unique place to bring together all the elements of the sector under one roof”.

In the preparations for Barcelona “we have worked intensively to ensure that at ISE 2022 a secure experience is offered, pleasant and very valuable - he stresses- to get the industry to showcase its innovations and be inspired by market highlights. We hope to see you there”.

Integrated Systems Europe 2022 will be held at Fira de Barcelona – Gran Via del 1 to the 4 February 2022, and the registration free through the code of Digital AV can be done from this link.

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