Schools in 2021 are constantly looking for ways to help improve the learning experience of their students using the technologies available to them. Recently Knox Grammar School in NSW has partnered with immersive space specialists Igloo Vision and Epson to create their own “igloo” learning experience for their students.
Knox Grammar School ICT Integrator, Mark Kelly, explained, “Knox Grammar set out to create an immersive learning space that was flexible, innovative and transformational for teachers and students. We wanted to encompass the latest presentation technologies that engaged students and captured their imagination. For this we required the expertise of Igloo Vision and projection technology from Epson.”
Igloo Vision supplied the “Igloo” to Knox Grammar in the form of a purpose-built, enclosed immersive space with 360-degree sound and vision. Both Knox Grammar IT and AV staff calibrated the multiple Epson EB-G7400UNL projectors paired with ELPLU03 lenses and linked them into the school infrastructure. The rest was handled by Igloo vision.
Knox Grammar chose Epson projectors for their “ongoing reliability and high-level technical support” along with the ability to upscale in the future should new technologies become available. The Epson projectors chosen were chosen also for their extreme brightness at 5,500 ANSI lumens together with their 4K Image Enhancement.
The result is a unique classroom allowing teachers to engage their students with surround sound and vision, “placing” them in the situation being taught such as “milk production on a dairy farm, how Tassal farms its salmon in Tasmania, being inside a raging bushfire or flying across the expanse of the Sahara desert.” The teachers are able to bring their students to the new classroom for any lesson where they feel the 3D immersive experience would benefit them.
“Teachers can create their own 360-degree video content, access it from YouTube VR or setup the Immersive Learning Space where traditional 2D content is presented and viewed on up to five Epson projectors. Teachers can also access Google Maps for a student field trip to anywhere in the world. It is a truly unique learning environment where Epson’s excellent projectors play a hugely important role,” Mark Kelly concluded.
It’s great to see school innovative in this space because we all want what’s best for our kids and for them to have the best learning experience available to them. Hopefully this sort of technology will soon be available to all schools irrespective of the cost involved. One thing for sure is that the IT available to students has come a long way since the computer lab at Corio North HS housing 10 BBC pcs.
