These concerns are matched with the rise of active learning classrooms (student-centered, technology-rich learning environments). This is a relatively new movement within Higher Education that’s slowly but surely transforming the way students learn and teachers teach. But it hasn’t always been easy finding the right, high-end technologies that live up to the standards of active learning classrooms at a sustainable price.

Steven Fudally, Chief Information Officer at Lake Superior College, came up with the “$1k classroom upgrade” in answer to this challenge – easy to use, high-tech tools at cost-effective prices that will turn classrooms into active learning spaces.

In just one month, Lake Superior College managed to roll out Airtame in 90 classrooms. They found that Airtame provides the kind of essential and dedicated education solution that they had been searching for – and at an affordable cost.

The bare minimum of an active learning space

It was a concept to challenge my team to research and identify modern technology at cost-effective prices for producing a collaborative and flexible academic environment.

Steven Fudally, Chief Information Officer at Lake Superior College

Steven Fudally came up with the “$1k classroom upgrade” because technology is finally at a point where it’s possible to find a smart solution that isn’t outdated immediately and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Finding the right tools takes a lot of research, and that’s why Fudally put a lot of effort into finding exactly the right match.

Simply put, educational institutions need an environment and set of tools that allow them to teach effectively. Teaching is challenging, tech should be simple. The tools and tech should be easy to use by everyone and cater to all sorts of room and a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environment.

For Lake Superior College, the original assessment was to find a replacement cycle of 7-10 years. They thought this was too slow to keep the academic setting competitive. So ideally, Lake Superior College would establish an academic setting with a 3-year replacement strategy, and in order to obtain a shorter replacement strategy, they realized they would have to decrease the cost of the classroom and improve wireless utilization – without jeopardizing quality.

Flexible, collaborative, cost-effective, financially sustainable, BYOD-friendly… That’s a lot of demands, but the fact is that those are the bare minimum requirements most Higher Ed institutions are faced with.

Luckily, educational environments are at the benefit of working with committed local resellers, who are in turn committed to getting the very best prices for mass tech deployment. The ongoing relationship a procurement or IT admin has with a well-educated AV reseller, who knows which solution would be perfect for the school’s specific use case, makes it a bit easier to find the kinds of cost-effective, modern technology solutions that will last for a long time.

The right technology = better learning

At Lake Superior College, about 80 percent of all rooms were in analog mode before they came up with the $1k classroom upgrade. Choosing what and where to upgrade wasn’t very straightforward for Lake Superior College, Fudally and his team focused on upgrading the rooms where the majority of students would benefit from a quick turnover.

A $1k classroom upgrade was impossible to obtain, Fudally found, if it had to include all the right cables, adapters, and controls for all teachers and students. Because a collaborative learning environment should factor in the students too and whatever device they are able to bring.

The hardwired cabled connections to support all would not only be a physical hassle to set up and maintain, it would be an added expense too. That’s why they settled on a wireless streaming solution.

We wanted to produce an environment where the system adheres to the environment rather than people adhering to the system.

Steven Fudally

Wireless streaming transforms teaching

Unfortunately, many of the wireless streaming solutions on the market were unreliable, causing lots of manual intervention, increased help desk support, and not fulfilling the BYOD demand.

It wasn’t until Lake Superior College found Airtame that they believed they had found the ideal solution. At a sustainable cost, Airtame provides the modern, easy to use solution they had been looking for.

Setting up Airtame was actually so easy for Lake Superior College that the entire training occurred in less than a week for approximately 250 faculty. They were able to implement a “train the trainer” solution, which meant that in no time they had champions offering to help training other faculty.

Faculty and students can bring in their own computing device and present from a platform they are comfortable with. This now eliminates the awkwardness of finding files, plugging in cables, and running devices they are unfamiliar with.

Steven Fudally

The problem that many educational institutions face is not the ability to find such modern technology solutions that fit their needs; it’s the cost that comes with it. With technologies like Airtame, classrooms can be instantly transformed into active learning spaces – and for a fraction of the cost of other solutions.

Key factors to consider when looking for tech gear

Flexible, collaborative tools for active learning are not impossible to find, and not all are priced too high to meet educational institutions’ budgets. But finding exactly the right ones require a lot of dedication, research, and trusted resellers.

From our partnerships and feedback, we’ve come up with a few key points that educators and IT admins should consider when establishing tight AV budgets and rollouts for active learning:

• Outline your cost
• Factor in the student cost (not just that of the teachers)
• Think about your AV life cycle
• Consult teachers’/students’ boards (better than an IT admin simply assuming new tech is good for a classroom)
• Focus energy and cost where you can see the quickest and largest impact (this should also help with the budgeting of a wider rollout)

Would you like to upgrade your classroom? Watch this short video and find out more about how Airtame works for your school environment:

Read more about Lake Superior College, and discover how to rollout Airtame for your educational institution.

The post The $1k classroom upgrade appeared first on Airtame.

Take a peek at the reasons behind Airtame 2 …

Components

Airtame 2 is better, stronger, and more reliable than the first generation device, simply because its components are better. Better components bring more memory and improved wireless range.

Did you ever want the latest and greatest Airtame software, but didn’t think you had enough time to update before the start of a meeting?  Fear no more, because, with a high speed onboard memory chip and cutting edge WiFi chip, the Airtame 2 performs firmware and software updates in just a few minutes.

And there’s more! The first generation Airtame was able to load animations, but could only load very few frames per second. Airtame 2 is much better in the sense that it runs more smoothly and takes less time to load.

In both the first-gen Airtame and the Airtame 2, there’s a WiFi chip. Airtame 2 has a brand-new WiFi chip though, about five times faster than its precursor, which provides the user with even more smooth and reliable screen sharing and faster load time for website backgrounds.

Airtame 2 is upgraded in many ways, but the improved performance in better latency deserves a mention too. Now, our users can enjoy an even more instant feeling when streaming plus a more solid AirPlay playback.

Hardware

Components are one thing, but they need to be cased in something with a strong form factor to be noticed. While we were happy with the dongle-shaped first-gen Airtame, we realized we could give our users so much more by upgrading the hardware itself too. We’re happy to introduce not just a new product, but a bold new look too!

Another thing our users have requested is more flexibility in terms of setup. Our previous dongle-like Airtame fit right into the HDMI port of a TV or projector, which came with a few disadvantages such as potentially blocking the WiFi signal.

That’s why we took a good look at the installation and made some amazing upgrades there too. Setup with Airtame 2 includes a magnetic wall mount that makes it easy to place the device next to the screen. It’s designed so that optimal mounting with the magnetic wall mount provides the best possible WiFi connection. Besides that, Airtame 2 has a modern, sleek design that adds elegance to any environment – we don’t think you want to hide it, but we’ll get to that later.

It’s clear why many of our users have made the suggestion of incorporating a Kensington Lock option. The Kensington Lock secures the device in areas that are accessible to many people, for example in semi-public places like a lounge, waiting area or classroom. While the first-gen Airtame didn’t have this feature, Airtame 2 does.

Airtame 2 is much more powerful than the first gen device, and therefore needs to be plugged into a power outlet. The new custom cable called Aircord removes the trouble of reaching both the HDMI input on the display and the power source by giving it more corded range.

There’s even the option of using Airtame 2 with our very own Power over Ethernet (coming soon to our online store), which connects Airtame 2 directly with the LAN cable for both power and stable internet without having to compromise on the simple setup.

Design

The first-gen Airtame is not meant to be on display. It looks great but is a little modest, and we knew there were some upgrades to be made here. Some of our partners have called the new Airtame 2 “sexy”, and while we probably won’t go that far, it’s safe to say the new design wins more hearts.

The surface of Airtame 2 is smooth to the touch without any disturbing elements. There’s only one attention-grabbing feature on the otherwise completely black device, and that’s the LED on the front.

The LED’s standard setting is a steady white glow, to indicate that your Airtame 2 is working just fine. This light is less obtrusive than that of the first-gen Airtame and will serve as a guide to users and inform them when a software update is imminent if a connection is lost – and many more things, some of which we’ll be constantly developing.

With many other of our competitors, you’ll have to connect something to your laptop or mobile device, drill a mounting plate or the device itself into the wall. It’s laborious and takes a lot of time. Airtame 2 comes with a magnetic wall mount. Yes, magnetic, no drilling required!

We recommend removing the adhesive from the magnetic wall mount and Aircord and find a good place beside your screen to set it up, but you could also just mount the device itself straight to the frame of the TV.

If mounted visibly, the Airtame 2 will receive better signal, but also make it easy for everyone to eventually recognize that the given screen is powered by Airtame – an easy, reliable solution.

Future advancements

It wasn’t that long ago we released our Homescreen apps in beta. We have an increasingly bigger focus on app integrations – building apps that connect to your pre-existing business or education services, allowing for more dynamic digital signage on your screens when they are not being used.

Airtame 2 is better equipped to show and run more advanced digital signage and dashboard solutions. We think the future will call for many more of these solutions, and that’s why we’ve provided our users with a future-proof device that grows with our users’ needs.

Price – still competitive

What about the price tag, you might ask? With all these state of the art components, the price must be sure to sky-rocket, right? We’re delighted to inform you that Airtame 2 is still a cheaper solution than most.

Airtame 2 costs €/$ 499 (ex. VAT), which is a bit more expensive than its predecessor. Airtame 2 is also an upgraded, future-proof solution that runs faster, has more memory, twice the wireless WiFi range and a more flexible setup. It’s a bargain when put under this context. Check out how we compare to our biggest competitors here.

Bottom line

Our first product is a fine device that we’re very proud of. And right now, it can suit most of the demands our users are requesting. But a year from now, we think that this device will have a hard time catching up to the features that we and our users want it to run.

And that’s why we’ve built a device with better components, a smarter design and room for all the improvements we will offer in the future to help you use screens better. We crammed all the learnings from our first-gen device into a new and improved form factor with kick-ass electronics.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Airtame 2s work perfectly well with the first-gen Airtame. So if you want, you could have these new, more powerful devices in rooms or environments where you need to impress more or need it to run faster and keep the first gen devices running like clockwork in the down-prioritized environments.

All in all, we’re launching a next-generation product that will be more prominent in the room, better performing and still as stable as the current platform that we’ve been continuously developing for four years.

Airtame 2 isn’t just a new chapter that continues a tale – it’s a whole new book that our users will be able to co-write with us.

Watch this short video to discover how Airtame works:

Find out more about Airtame 2 and buy yours today

The post Why you should upgrade to Airtame 2 appeared first on Airtame.