Serving the K-12 space is driving us to make considerable efforts to determine which technologies and strategies will deliver the best value over the long term. Really interesting discussions are taking place in which principals and staff work to accept the terms that we take for granted. ROI, TCO and student experience are being tossed back and forth--the real intention is to avoid adopting technology that goes unused. These meetings and exchanges encourage thinking about both the educational and administrative processes within the schools.
Will Unified Communications play a role in the K-12 education vertical? It may, but not likely how you perceive. You can offer a solution and then try and make the users fit the solution, but that's not only archaic, it's ill advised. Hashing out definitive criteria that produce results and anticipate benefits means that UC may need to change course and integrate into each vertical differently--education is just one example.
Teachers usually collaborate in smaller groups, usually in grade levels K, 1, 2, 3 etc. but not necessarily with grade levels outside of their own. So throwing out a blanket solution isn't ideal. Instead, the time, effort and resources need to be directed in upfront discussions and ongoing meetings to define which technology elements are best suited for a given task and how to minimize duplication of effort between the technology used. Then you have to identify key areas of benefits and improvements in either admin or faculty.
We've been meeting since the summer of 2012 with our schools and our vendor, Panasonic. Panasonic offered three solutions to one of our campus customers and we've been able to gain some insight.
NS-1000 UC Server and SIP Paging
The first solution was the NS-1000 Unified Communications server, which we deployed first, later adding SIP paging and UC clients to every teacher's and administrator's staff desktop. There really isn't a need to use the client between teachers so much as there is for principals and administrative staff. Desktops are becoming less relevant, and iPads more prevalent.
The greater need is using the UC client for an adjunct to "emergency communications" notification, and integrating the client holistically into the solution. Whenever code red or code blue is announced, the desktop clients should be included in both voice and visible text announcements--again, the UC client is an adjunct.
The paging or voice announcements must also include telephones and paging endpoints. The UC client could be useful since it integrates with the network security cameras and provides visibility of key areas around the school during a lockdown.
The process can be slowed when staff expend too much time in adopting a solution, or if, in an actual crisis, they must re-focus their attention away from the situation at hand in order to deal with the technology--they fear an over-emphasis on the technology will endanger students. Emergency communications is important, but it must be capable of immediate execution and integrate as a unified solution so that time is not wasted during a crisis.
In addition to these factors, we've experienced significant SIP trunk savings, and the cost to add SIP paging endpoints to the existing legacy paging system was insignificant.
A+ Classroom Audio System
The second solution that Panasonic delivered was the A+ Classroom Audio System. We installed the system in the science lab, and the teacher remarked that the students are now more engaged using the secondary microphone to participate in classroom discussions. The teacher noted that her voice is not worn out at the end of each school day, and students are also able to clearly hear the teacher anywhere in the classroom.
Panaboard
Panasonic delivered a Panaboard as a third solution to the school, also providing follow-up training after the initial delivery. The software used is DisplayNote, which allows teachers to present from any wireless device.
Several months later, we met again with the school and Panasonic to discuss placement and selection of technology in the classrooms. A key concern voiced was whether to use large displays or short throw projectors:
65" Video Display vs. Short Throw Projector
Best video quality vs. Acceptable video quality
Long life vs. Bulb less life when streaming video
No maintenance vs. Some maintenance
Higher cost vs. Lower cost
We decided that classrooms should use a 65-inch display, and we placed the displays strategically in specific classrooms to ensure that they are used by more classes and students. Remaining classrooms are provided with short throw projectors and Panaboards. Then, we used Panaboards for the appropriate age group and the right type of mounting to accommodate student interaction. Some rooms need the slide mount to allow the Panaboard to slide up and down to allow for the height of younger students.
In our meetings with other schools we found that teachers will stop using technology because:
* The process using the technology is too complicated and/or requires too much time (Instruction time is valuable)
* Lack of training (Frustration)
* Maintenance (Availability)
* Technology is misaligned for age group (example: K-5 like touch screen and 6-12 like advanced interaction) (Misapplication)
The emphasis isn't on UC but remains focused on how the technology pieces can best be used to provide the most benefit to the students and to increase instruction time for the teachers.
The elements of UC that can provide value and benefit to both students and staff include video conferencing. There are ideas on how to best utilize video, but these ideas are mostly not put into practice.
Fitting UC to the classroom is tied to safety or emergency communications notifications. More work is needed to move UC elements into the K-12 classrooms in ways that benefit the students' learning process and create positive learning engagement. Also, the technology must meet the needs administratively so that staff doesn't stop using the solution and the technology doesn't reduce instruction time.
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