Interactive Displays are giving students direct access to a level of technological sophistication and connection not out of place in the modern workplace.
Only three years ago, butcher’s paper and an old-school whiteboard were common teaching aids at a cluster of three rural primary schools in Victoria.
But one technology company changed all that, upgrading the school’s digital learning resources and transforming the three separate schools into a modern connected campus.
More recently, the same company – Samsung – has helped St Joseph’s College, a boys’ secondary school on the outskirts of Melbourne, elevate its classroom experience for teachers and students with a series of new interconnected interactive displays.
In both cases, Samsung has pushed the envelope of what each school conceived possible. Mr Phil Gaut, Samsung’s Senior Director and head of display and brand memory, says the company is passionate about learning.
“First and foremost, it’s really important that the technology in a school mirrors the technology that’s available in the workplace,” he says.
“That’s the expectation from students, and the way they learn and absorb information in the modern environment is adopting the resources and the mediums that are available through technology.”
In the case of St Joseph’s College, Mr Gaut says, interactive displays have irreversibly changed the way students learn and engage with teachers.
“St Joseph’s is encouraging the children to collaborate and work together with the technology as an enabler and a facilitator of that work, that is both exciting and exceptionally practical, to really enrich their learning,” he says.
“The digital era adds enormous value in terms of content and the resources that are available. Ultimately, we believe all the innovations that we’re seeing in the marketplace, from internet to AI, add exceptional value to the learning experience.”
St Joseph’s College, which has approximately 1,000 students and 120 staff, partnered with Samsung to equip its new cutting-edge building with displays that enhance engagement and elevate digital communication throughout the entire school.
Mr Andrew Cooper, Deputy Principal and teacher at St Joseph’s, says Samsung’s FLIP Pro Interactive Display has quickly become part of the fabric of teaching and learning at the College.
“It has also allowed us to do something that seems to be quite obvious in teaching but isn’t done enough, and that is to allow students to be part of that teaching, to have them at the front of the classroom leading discussion as well,” he says.
He believes a true measure of the success of introducing Samsung’s interactive displays has been the uptake by students; they are tutoring each other after school, using the technology the way they have seen their teachers use it.
Mr Gaut says Samsung builds resilience and security into its products, allowing students to safely collaborate during peer-to-peer learning.
“Samsung is building into its education tools a level of software protection to ensure that the school remains a safe environment.”
St Joseph’s IT Manager, Mr Phil Skiller, says Samsung’s Interactive Displays streamline the way staff produce content.
“Part of the challenge was to have a device that we could use to interact with a teacher’s computer screen. With the FLIP Pro Interactive Display, we can have the computer screen visible in any part of the display, we can use part of it as a whiteboard, or we can annotate over the top. It all works seamlessly,” Mr Skiller says.
“Every teacher in the new buildings know how they work,” he says.
It’s a statement Mr Gaut understands well. He says how a teacher interacts with the technology in the classroom is potentially the most important element of its success.
“Technology needs to be simple, intuitive, and easy for teachers to use. While Samsung is well-established in universities, we only recently started our journey into K-12 education, and one thing we’ve learned is that teachers are moving between schools quite regularly,” Mr Gaut says.
“They don’t have time to learn a new technology every time they go into a different classroom. They want something that’s simple to use so lessons start quickly and in an uninterrupted manner.
“That’s why we’ve worked hard to build not only our hardware but our support infrastructure around our products in terms of training resources, such as how-to videos and learning guides for teachers.”
He continues: “It’s also important that our products are supportive of the latest environment. To that end, we’ve just launched a brand new Google-certified interactive board.”
Known as the WAD eboard Interactive Display, it is Samsung’s first Google Enterprise Devices Licensing Agreement (EDLA)-certified classroom display.
Powered by the Android 13 operating system, the WAD eboard Interactive Display series – available in 65-, 75- and 86-inch models – provides an intuitive and engaging experience that eliminates the learning curve of new instructional tools for teachers and students alike.
As part of a seeding program, Samsung is placing the WAD eboard Interactive Display in 11 schools across New South Wales throughout June.
“We will work in partnership with each of the 11 schools over the next 12 weeks, to build on learning exactly how the board can integrate with the curriculum, with the Google Education platform, and make it even easier for people who are adopting it, to use the product,” Mr Gaut says.
He says learning remains an absolute passion point for Samsung for several reasons.
“The early adoption of technology really does prepare students for life in the modern workplace. The technology you and I are discussing is all technology that we’re deploying every day in the modern workplace,” he says.
“It’s absolutely critical that the next generation are getting exposure to these products, not only in their home lives but also in a schooling environment, and they understand that technology can be fun but also has a serious aspect to it.”
For more information about Samsung’s Interactive Displays for education, visit www.samsung.com/au/business/display-solutions/education-schools.
