Bexhill College gets a SMART Upgrade

When Bexhill College wanted to upgrade every campus classroom with a standardised display set-up, they knew that Strive AV would be the ideal partner for the job

This summer, Bexhill College underwent a classroom transformation, with new SMART boards in every teaching space on campus. Having worked together previously, Strive AV was appointed by the college to specify, source, and install equipment for this largescale upgrade before students returned for a new term in September.

The client brief was straightforward, but the timelines were tight with just two months to deliver the project. One of the key factors in winning the order was that Strive AV must ensure that all screens could be supplied and fully installed during the summer holidays. With discussions starting in July, the project needed to be actioned and progressed immediately. Committed to meeting this tight deadline, the team at Strive AV turned around the installation within 10 days of the screens being delivered.

Mike Dunne, eLearning and ILT co-ordinator at Bexhill College explained: “We had been dealing with 5- to 10-year-old projectors, the image clarity was poor, and the reliance on lamps meant they had limited life cycles, and constantly needed upkeep. All these factors were not conducive to providing a bright bold learning environment, which is central to the college ethos.”

The college required a consistent presentation eco-system that staff could easily use, no matter which classroom they were teaching in. Existing equipment included projectors, old interactive whiteboards, and some older style SMART boards. The college had liked working with SMART and this was the preferred option. SMART could also deliver within budget and on time, so the decision was taken to upgrade each classroom with a new SMART Board interactive display. The upgrade would provide the required standardisation, while still being a familiar technology for staff.

The solution included the installation of fifty-two 75” SMART Board MX Series interactive displays. Four of these were installed with mobile trolleys, while the remainder were wall-mounted in each classroom along with HDMI and USB cabling.

The SMART Board MX Series includes features, such as touch interaction, SMART Ink® desktop software, and personalisation, that make it a long-lasting investment. The displays work with UVC webcams, Zoom, Google Meet™, Microsoft Teams™, and more. Remote learners can also engage with content using screen sharing, digital ink, whiteboards, and lesson-delivery tools (like Spotlight).

“The solution Strive AV provided was ideal, it met all our needs to support our students with the latest technology whilst also using brands that our teachers could easily adapt to. Being able to lease was also a real advantage; spreading the cost over five years meant the college could easily handle the investment.” Continued Mike.

Due to the size of this AV upgrade, the college organised financing via its existing lease company to help spread the cost of the project. Leasing has become a more popular option in education in recent years, helping campuses to facilitate digital transformation strategies while managing budgets.

“The new SMART Board MX’s were exactly what was required for this college to start the new term afresh with connected classrooms and engaging learning. The displays are familiar to the staff at Bexhill College and are very easy to use anyway, so technical training and support is minimal. This means teachers can get on with what they do best from the get-go – teaching!” Concludes Matthew Dunne Sales and Marketing Director at Strive AV.

To find out more about Strive AV, visit www.striveav.com

SC Johnson Professional is launching a new washroom soap dispenser made from recovered coastal plastic. The SCJ Professional® Proline WAVE 1 litre washroom soap dispenser is made from 70% recovered coastal plastic, which is post-consumer recycled waste plastic collected on land within 31 miles of an ocean so that it does not reach oceans or landfills. Each SCJ Professional® Proline WAVE dispenser is the equivalent of 16 x 500ml waste plastic bottles that have been prevented from reaching the oceans or landfills in vulnerable coastal areas where there is little formal waste collection infrastructure.

Eight million metric tonnes of plastic reach the world’s oceans every year, equating to a rubbish truck full of plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute[1]. This is an issue around the world and SC Johnson Professional’s new soap dispenser is a further opportunity to reuse plastic waste that otherwise was bound for the ocean or landfills.

SC Johnson Professional CEO Katja von Raven said: “In the US and Europe, SC Johnson has already seen successful launches of bottles made from 100% recovered coastal plastic in Mr Muscle® and Windex® product ranges, thanks to the company’s global partnership with Plastic Bank™. At SC Johnson Professional we are now excited to be bringing this truly innovative approach to professional markets as well, with our SCJ Professional® Proline WAVE soap dispenser.

“In our extensive market research with facility management professionals, we found that 91% of respondents believed that their choice of a skin care dispenser can contribute to meeting their business’s sustainability targets. So, by leading the way with our new dispenser made from 70% recovered coastal plastic, we are allowing our customers to act immediately on a topic they and their people care about.”

The SC Johnson partnership with Plastic Bank™ empowers collection communities in vulnerable coastal areas in Indonesia, Philippines and Brazil to stop plastic waste before it enters the oceans or landfills, whilst improving the lives of those who collect it by providing them with a new source of income.

SC Johnson Professional believes the new SCJ Professional® Proline WAVE soap dispenser will help organisations who choose it to achieve their own sustainability goals by demonstrating they are making a sustainable choice that helps stop plastic waste from reaching the oceans or landfills and supports the important work of Plastic Bank™.

Find out more about the SCJ Professional® Proline WAVE soap dispenser here