As the Area Manager for the Hunter Valley, Newcastle and New England regions at Kookaburra, I visit many schools offering technology solutions for outdated equipment.
The problem
Back in 2014, the school wanted to replace their old projector screens across multiple high school classrooms. This was an extremely large project, but we had the perfect technology solution for them. At the time, interactive touchscreens were relatively new, so we introduced the CommBox interactive panels to the staff.
After giving the staff a demonstration and providing regular support, they decided to purchase nine CommBox Interactive touchscreens to test the technology.
Later in 2015, we returned to the school to provide a further 20 CommBox Interactive Touchscreens.
Due to the successful installation in the high school, the staff invited us back this year to install 32 CommBox interactive panels in the junior school.
The installation
Since our initial installation in 2014, CommBox have introduced a version three of their interactive panels. After several meetings at the school and at CommBox head office, we offered a quote to the school.
The junior school installation was of a much larger scale than the high school one, with 32 x 75” CommBox interactive panels and touchscreens to be installed across various classrooms.
Rather than simply mounting the screens to the wall, the school asked for them to be height adjustable so both the teachers and students could easily engage with the panels to make lessons more interactive. This was an additional challenge, but one my team was happy to take on.
We consulted with the IT Director, Principal and staff at the school regarding the installation. During these discussions, the school opted to have both the Commbox Control Core and CommBox Control 10 installed.
These versions of the interactive panels are ideal for schools and classrooms and adding the CommBox Control meant they can be controlled remotely, allowing the school’s IT department to remotely administer assistance should the teachers have any trouble.
The screens were ordered by the school’s Financial Director at the end of term three and scheduled for installation during the two-week school holidays.
The stock arrived during the first week of the holidays and we began our installation during the second. Installing the touchscreens took my team two days and was followed by a visit from Adam, a control systems specialist, at CommBox. He arrived on site to program the panels with the school’s network.
The tasks were all performed in a very timely manner. Completing the installation during the school holidays meant the school’s staff were not disrupted. It also meant the panels were ready to use on the first day of Term 4 in 2020!
The results
The school’s students and staff were extremely grateful for the screens and blown away with the innovative technology.
“The CommBox interactive panels have all performed flawlessly since day one,” said the school’s IT Director.
I’m proud of the work that was put in by our team at Kookaburra and would like to acknowledge their efforts, as well as the support of Nick Hall, Adam Chaffer, Peter Yeates and Karryn Pappas from CommBox, and Nof Lopreiato from Primo Electrical Services.
Kookaburra Educational Resources offer a range of audio-visual products for school installations across NSW. Contact us today to find out how we can help design a custom solution for your school.