Search results for: 'Remote'

SOLUTION BRIEF

ViewSonic Meeting Room Solution Adds Efficiency and Collaboration at New Company Headquarters

Founded in 2014, and having reached its current level of nearly 2,000 employees just prior to the start of the pandemic, this logistics management technology company had outgrown its first home. During the work-from-home days, the founders began looking for new headquarters. Historically a culture that relied on creative and strategic team meetings, they had the foresight to plan the collaboration spaces in their new headquarters based on space planning best practices for their type of business.

The suggested ratio was one meeting space for every 10-20 employees. To avoid underutilized space, the recommendation was to avoid mid-sized rooms that were too small or two big for meetings of no more than four people, which account for up to 75% of meetings. The recommended sweet spot was rooms of around 150-200 square feet with seating up to six. Most of their 150 rooms would be this type of space. Finally, they planned to include two large boardrooms that could comfortably seat up to 20. These spaces would be used for more formal meetings like client presentations, executive meetings, training sessions, and employee onboarding.

To accommodate the varied types of meetings that would be held in these rooms, the founders tasked the IT team with sourcing display technology that would enable interactive collaboration, easy content sharing, and efficient hybrid meetings. In addition to seeking reliable display hardware, the IT team was looking for a solution that would facilitate efficient management of the many displays.

IFP5550 Gen 5 55” 4K ViewBoard Interactive Display

IFP8662 - 86" 4K Touch Enabled ViewBoard Smart Display

EP1052T-H - 10.1" Scheduling Panel, Meeting Room Touch Controller, POE+, NFC, RFID, HID, WI-FI, Camera, Mic, GPIO

Joey Lee
JSL Marketing for ViewSonic [U.S.]
T: 310-592-1712
E: joey@jslcomm.com

Nury Lavandier
JSL Marketing for ViewSonic [Latin America]
T: 305-491-0530
E: nury@jslcomm.com

Caroline McGrath
CMM Communications for ViewSonic [Canada]
T: 416-972-1642
E: caroline@cmm-communications.com

SOLUTION BRIEF

Regional Mall Upgrades Store Directory to ViewSonic ePosters, with Profitable Results

The local property managers at this mid-size mall knew they were behind the times. Their static store listing and map was beyond outdated, and they were missing out on a host of business opportunities provided by digital signage. Grateful to be thriving in a time when many malls were floundering, it was time to implement a digital signage strategy.

The many objectives included:

• Gain wayfinding parity with local competitors, while using the signage content to distinguish their brand
• Deliver a digital directory that would enable shoppers to browse stores interactively and locate them on a three-dimensional map
• Attract and maintain visitors with the modern interface and varied content
• Provide advertising opportunities for tenants – a win-win in revenue generation for them both
• The ability to broadcast important updates of interest to shoppers, like road closures, store openings, special events, and weather or urgent alerts
• Customization of content based on display location and time of day
• Data capture for use in fine-tuning content and developing a robust advertising platform

EP5542T - 55" Display, 3840 x 2160 Resolution, 450 cd/m2 Brightness, 16/7

CASE STUDY

Agile Reseller Adds ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays to Successfully Meet Customers’ Evolving Needs

COMPANY

With a footprint that spans the Southeast United States, RJ Young is an industry leader providing technology solutions that power businesses. The company helps small to enterprise-level organizations transition into modern workplaces and increase productivity with comprehensive managed IT solutions, office equipment and technology, business process outsourcing, and digital communications. After more than 60 years in operation, RJ Young is a proud workplace to more than 650 team members, serving organizations in more than 30 sales and service locations across nine states. The company is known for being anchored to its core values of honoring its people, customers, and communities.

“Our partnership with ViewSonic is over the top. The product is good, if not better, than what else is available and at an outstanding price point. ViewSonic also had the support, quick turnaround, and good relationships that we wanted to allow us to quickly satisfy our customers’ needs.”

— Destin Echols, RJ Young Technology Solutions Architect

THE CHALLENGE

Founded in 1955, RJ Young was an established leader in delivering copiers and printers – along with a “We Make It RightTM” guarantee – to businesses across the southeastern United States. In 2020, the company and its customers alike found themselves suddenly inhabiting a changed business landscape.

“When Covid hit, everything shifted for us and for our customers,” said Destin Echols, RJ Young Technology Solutions Architect. “Our customers needed support to do business with a much more distributed workforce. To our leadership’s credit, they took a hard look at our customers’ business needs and how they were changing, and determined what we could do to meet those evolving needs.”

The ability to effectively connect, communicate, and interact with remote workers had become a major pain point for RJ Young’s customers. A critical part of the company’s new focus was the need to be able to provide interactive meeting and video conferencing technology to support the needs of remote workers.

“Now we had to quickly pivot to respond to the sudden changes and challenges that our customers faced,” said Echols. “Interactivity was going to be key. Everyone was already accustomed to the interactivity offered by their smartphones and iPads. We wanted to deliver that to our customers in a way that would facilitate collaborative in-person meetings, and as well as bring together remote and on-site participants.”

THE SOLUTION

Before taking on the role of Technology Solutions Architect at the RJ Young Corporate Office in Nashville, Echols had worked in technology for a decade. That experience led him and his team to question how RJ Young customers would benefit with this type of technology.

Around that time, Echols met ViewSonic Channel Account Manager, Matt Hurley, who showed him the ViewSonic line of ViewBoard® interactive flat panel (IFP) displays.

“We were very impressed with the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays, which were responsive and packed with features, while also being intuitive, easy to use, and having a great price tag,” said Echols. “As we worked with ViewSonic, we became even more impressed with the way they do business. The support they offer is outstanding. In the early days, we had a massive learning curve, and when we had questions, someone at ViewSonic always picked up the phone and had answers for us.”

RJ Young made the decision to partner with ViewSonic to fulfill its customers’ display needs, including commercial displays, digital signage, interactive displays, desktop monitors, and projectors. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Our partnership with ViewSonic is over the top,” said Echols. “The product is good, if not better, than what else is available and at an outstanding price point. ViewSonic also had the support, quick turnaround, and good relationships that we wanted to allow us to quickly satisfy our customers’ needs.”

THE RESULTS

During the work-at-home days of the Covid pandemic, adding ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays to the RJ Young lineup proved to be a wise decision.

“It was easy to show our customers how the ViewBoard displays could help them navigate the changing business landscape,” said Echols. “Not only did the displays provide interactivity and visibility for virtual meetings, they were also a logical extension to the way business had been evolving pre-pandemic.”

“I tell my customers that the ViewBoard interactive display is a common-sense extension of how they already do things, and it all revolves around interactivity,” he said. “Everyone is on a cell phone, which you can show to one or two people. The next step up from that is an iPad or a touchscreen PC, but you’re still limited to the few people that can gather around and see it. The natural extension, if you want five, 10, or more people to see and interact with content, is to throw it onto a giant TV touchscreen.”

Most of the time, his customers say, ‘Yes! That makes sense. That’s exactly what I want!’

Today, RJ Young is both a ViewSonic reseller and customer. The company has installed solutions for their customers using virtually every model in every category of ViewSonic product. They also rely on ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays to facilitate meetings in their own conference rooms.

“Every one of our 30-plus offices has at least one ViewSonic CDE display and one ViewBoard interactive display,” said Echols. “The quality and interactivity provide amazing functionality for our all-hands meetings, sales meetings, and breakout sessions. Also, we love the myViewBoard software, which makes it easy to manage our ViewSonic displays across the entire region.”

Echols can easily troubleshoot any situation using the myViewBoard ManagerTM software.

“I can turn on their conference room display – no matter where it is – add a welcome screen with the company’s logo, drop in any other content they need,” he said. “We don’t have to send our IT resources, and no one has to worry about whether there’s someone tech savvy in office. We can remotely manage the device, and it’s been fantastic for us.”

The duality of being a ViewSonic customer and reseller comes in handy.

“It’s ideal to have the products in use and available to demo,” said Echols. “If a customer comes in and asks to see the technology we’ve installed for other customers, we can simply take them to our conference room.”

The most recent installation is the 105-inch ViewBoard IFP105S interactive display with ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio. To showcase this flagship product and gain its ultra-wide benefits for themselves, RJ Young installed this 105-inch 21:9 ViewBoard in the conference room at their Nashville headquarters.

“I’m proud to say that our conference room was the first US installation of this groundbreaking product, and we have been thrilled with how much the added screen real estate has increased visibility and efficiency in our meetings,” said Echols. “The ability to cast multiple devices for collaboration and have a picture-in-picture view with different sources is extremely handy when checking jobs and designs against alternate versions. The annotation and tools are invaluable when we are marking up plans, doing systems designs, troubleshooting with customers, and when working internally on any number of tasks from HR to marketing.”

“We often work in collaboration with customers to review building plans, work out locations for their equipment, and show them how it will function in their space,” said Echols. “We use the 105-inch ViewBoard display to work with the customer to design their ideal office space and working environment, and the fact that we are using the same technology at our office speaks volumes.” Soon after their own installation, RJ Young brought the ultra-wide interactivity of the 105-inch ViewBoard display to several customers.

“For us and for our customers, the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays are an outstanding standalone meeting platform,” said Echols. “The 105-inch ultra- wide model takes it to a whole new level, with added space for more effective viewing and content organization, along with support for the Microsoft Teams Room Front Row layout, which delivers a natural and efficient digital meeting experience.”

APPENDIX

Additional ViewSonic Solutions from RJ Young

While ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays are the most popular products among his customers, Echols noted that RJ Young has provided customers with solutions using pretty much every product made by ViewSonic. These range from desktop monitors and conference room displays of all types and sizes, to digital signage, and massive Direct View LED displays, and their customers couldn’t be happier with the results.

“Feedback from customers about their ViewSonic products has been excellent,” said Echols. “I recently installed ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays and CDE commercial displays using myViewBoard Manager for a large non-profit company, and they just called saying that they wished they had done this installation sooner.”

Of course, he added, as with any supplier, there have been small and infrequent mishaps, like a product damaged in shipping, or the time a board arrived from the factory with a problem. Both were blips on the radar, with ViewSonic immediately replacing the products and making things right.

“We’ve never had a problem that resulted in an unhappy customer,” he said. “ViewSonic is always there for us, making sure our customers are satisfied.”

With ViewSonic’s many product lines to work with, Echols said that he enjoys offering customers everything from basic conference room setups to, “how creative do you want to get?” installations.

Recently, he worked on several projects that made use of the ViewSonic CDE30 commercial displays, which allow for vertical orientation. In one project, the company asked RJ Young to install three displays in a vertical array that ended up looking like windows on a cruise ship. At a local courthouse, Echols helped his customer develop a solution that would segment the content to be seen by the judge, jury, or audience, which included two ViewSonic 65-inch CDE6530 commercial displays hung from the celling to provide the judge with a private view of content. Another display was hung facing the audience, while a ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive display was used to mirror court documents and facilitate zoom calls.

Another recent and “really cool” installation Echols facilitated was for Lenoir- Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina.

“The auditorium had concave walls, which made things tricky. We ended up putting a ViewSonic projector in the center with two ViewSonic 135-inch All-in- One Direct View LED displays on either side,” Echols said. “We made a custom frame to straighten out the wall behind the Direct View LED displays, which ViewSonic helped with quite a bit. Content could be programmed to flow from one side to the other, across all three sections, for example showing a wave crashing across them. It was stunning.”

Three years into the partnership, RJ Young has installed ViewSonic products across most of the industries it serves, including higher education, enterprise, and retail. Along with the certainty that ViewSonic hardware will deliver the quality, features, performance, and longevity to fully meet their customers’ needs, Echols said that ViewSonic’s myViewBoard Manager software has been a boon to customer satisfaction.

“We know from our own experience how beneficial the myViewBoard Manager is for remote management of a suite of displays,” said Echols. “We believe in it so much that we include it in every relevant quote, making it an opt-out scenario for customers.”

Ultimately, what makes the partnership with ViewSonic stand out, is the company’s unparalleled service and support, said Echols.

“In every way, before, during, and after a sale, ViewSonic fully supports us,” said Echols. “Matt Hurley is one hundred percent a full member of our team. He joins us at conferences and on customer calls. He does training with us – such as when a customer’s team isn’t sure how to use a display after an installation – and he’s available every day for us. We also get great professional development support for our education customers from ViewSonic folks specialized in that area.”

Circling back to where it all started, Echols recalls that when everything changed in 2020, the team at ViewSonic was integral to helping them quickly acclimate.

“It was all new to us, and we didn’t quite know what we were doing,” he said. “We had to figure out what parts and pieces we need to go with which types of installations. ViewSonic walked us through it all and made sure we had what we needed. They even helped us get in place our systems and people that we needed to support their product lines.”

Because of this support, Echols noted, his company has been able to extend their “Make It Right” guarantee to ViewSonic product installations.

“Part of our history with copiers was our ‘We Make It Right’ guarantee,” he said. “If someone on our team messes something up, we’re going to fix it. If there’s a problem, we’re going to fix it. Because of the support ViewSonic has extended to us on the technology side and on the back end, we’re able to offer this same guarantee for our AV hardware and software.”

IFP105S - 105" 5K 21:9 ViewBoard interactive display with integrated microphone and USB-C

SOLUTION BRIEF

School District Hosts Trouble-Free PD Event with Connectivity Offered by ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays

Preparing for any important event can be nerve-racking for anyone involved in the planning and preparation. Those responsible for the presentation equipment are dead-center in the spotlight.

A director of technology at a public high school (which preferred not to be named) is familiar with this feeling. Tensions were particularly high when
he and his team of four were tasked with managing a critical professional development (PD) event hosted by the regional board of cooperative education services (BOCES). The agenda called for more than 30 concurrent sessions, with 1,100 educators in attendance.

With presenters traveling from districts across the region, the pressure to provide a trouble-free day that smoothly delivered the promised trainings was intense. Careful preparation would only go so far – reliable presentation technology would be critical.

The school had recently installed ViewSonic® ViewBoard® IFP7550 interactive displays in 20 classrooms. The ViewBoard displays had been received only a month prior, and the team was not yet fluent in their use. Nonetheless they determined that the ViewBoard displays were the school’s best option for delivering the trainings.

The IT team’s planning, preparation, and onsite presence were a key factor in the successful completion of the event. Also essential to this success was the reliability and ease of use provided by the ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays.

IFP7550 Gen 5 75” 4K ViewBoard Interactive Display

CASE STUDY

School Builds Strong Foundation for Digital Learning with ViewSonic Education Solutions

SCHOOL

Foundations for the Future Charter Academy (FFCA) has had a long-standing reputation for academic leadership. Today, it operates eight campuses within the city of Calgary, including four elementary, two middle and two high schools. Technology innovation has played an integral role for FFCA in both student development and academic success.

“Our results are consistently above the provincial average,” says Jeff Cullen, Director of Technology for Foundations for the Future Charter Academy. He attributes part of that success to the school’s investments in the latest visual learning technology for its eight campuses, all of which are now equipped with the ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® Interactive Displays and the myViewBoard® digital learning platform.

“The upgrade to ViewSonic is our most recent, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Teacher adoption and student engagement is high, and the future looks very bright.”

— Jeff Cullen, FFCA Director of Technology

CHALLENGE

FFCA recently completed a major technology upgrade which included the replacement of outdated visual technology and equipment, including 15-year-old projector/SMART Board systems. Image brightness was difficult to achieve in various classroom settings, and maintenance costs and licensing fees were high. The systems also required a lot of manual calibration which was difficult and time consuming for the IT team to manage. “If the walls weren’t completely straight, they didn’t work,” said Cullen.

The search for replacement technology began immediately after a ceiling had collapsed at its North Calgary campus building and students had to be relocated to a remote building in the south end of the city. The decision to deploy ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® interactive displays for the temporary building was an easy one for FFCA because of the cost savings from easier maintenance along with robust remote management features.

“We settled on ViewSonic and moved the ViewBoard displays into the new high school as quickly as we could because we had only a few days to get everything done. The set up was easy and given the success of that installation, we chose ViewSonic as the established standard for all of our campuses moving forward,” said Cullen.

SOLUTION

Changing classroom learning technologies can create resistance on the part of teachers, Cullen notes. “For teachers, their classrooms are their offices. That’s where they work and live each day.”

But that wasn’t the case with the ViewSonic^® myViewBoard^® ecosystem, he adds. “When the first ViewBoard displays were installed, the teachers dove into the software, and many have begun to transition their SMART Board Notebook files over to the new myViewBoard platform.”

In the summer of 2022, FFCA’s team completed the replacement of all its SMART systems with 170 ViewBoard interactive displays. Moving from the older SMART Boards has delivered considerable advantages for the schools – from easy maintenance, to portability, to remote management and wireless casting.

“We don’t have to worry about alignment and bulb replacement anymore, and we don’t have to pay licensing fees. We also have much more flexibility because the myViewBoard software allows for wireless casting and screen sharing,” said Cullen.

A key feature for Cullen is remote device management capabilities. “With Manager Advanced, I can centrally manage our entire network. I can see everything across the network and push out updates remotely. This has solved a lot of issues for us.”

As teachers work with myViewBoard, Cullen reports that the uptake ranges from straightforward whiteboard functions to more advanced digital learning applications.

“For example, at the elementary school level there was lot of excitement over the integrated reader and translation software and how easy it is to use in teaching phonics and literacy. Elementary teachers are usually the hardest to impress. But when we showed them these new software features, there were ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’.”

FFCA also plans to install another 40 ViewBoard displays in one of its newest campuses which is scheduled to open in North Calgary in the Spring of 2024. With this school, Cullen says they are taking technology innovation a step further. “We plan to take a very mobile approach for our computer and learning labs, and are working with the idea of using a virtual approach. For this campus, most of the ViewSonic ViewBoards will be all mounted on mobile carts.”

Over his 13 years at FFCA, Cullen says he has overseen three technology refreshes. “The upgrade to ViewSonic is our most recent, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Teacher adoption and student engagement is high, and the future looks very bright.”

RESULTS

Since its technological evolution, Splitsville has delivered on its promise to bring a state-of-the-art bowling entertainment experience to a new generation of customers.

"ViewSonic digital signage, projection systems, and large format displays are now front and center in every area of every Splitsville facility, serving up music, sports, event reminders and acknowledgements, celebratory notices, advertising, and business presentations," said Haggerty.

“The instant gratification of digital has been a big tool for getting people out,” said Haggerty. “Also, adding more visual richness to our ads has moved people to buy more food, more quickly.”

The first location to undergo an overhaul quadrupled its earnings within two-and-a-half years, said Haggerty. “It took about eight months for it to get its sea legs, but after that, everything came together.”

The sites have become a popular draw for activities outside of bowling, from party bookings to business meetings. “People can even do PowerPoint presentations over the lanes if they like. With one push of the button they can have all screens showing the same input,” said Haggerty.

Plans are in the works to add interactive touchscreen capabilities to displays at the individual bowling lanes to enable sign up, scorekeeping, points collection, and messaging.

Now armed with a proven concept with definitive results, Haggerty has his eyes on expansion into the U.S.

ViewSonic CDE Series Commercial Displays

CASE STUDY

High School Boosts Pride and Communication with Seamless 216-Inch ViewSonic Direct View LED Display

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Located in Will County, Illinois, the Joliet Township High School District 204 (JTHS) encompasses Joliet Central High School and Joliet West High School. Founded in 1899 it is one of the area’s oldest school districts. Four regional middle school districts attend JTHS: Joliet Public Schools District 86, Rockdale School District 84, Troy School District 30-C, and Elwood School District 203.

“It sounds corny but when they first saw it pretty much everyone was in awe of how it looked. It is such a superior product than what was installed at Central. Everyone from the principal to the support staff was excited to see a display that big with no seams.”

— Matt Kellett, Director of Information Technology Services

THE CHALLENGE

The cross-town rivalry is classic, perpetually played out at high school sporting events and club competitions. At the Joliet Township High School District (JTHS), the rivalry between Joliet Central High School (Central) and Joliet West High School (West) goes beyond athletics and debate.

It began in 2016, with the completion of Central’s expansive new Student Center, which included a large video wall made of a 4x4 grid of 55-inch displays. Used for daily announcements about clubs, sports, tutoring opportunities and more, the space was also used after hours for meetings and presentations, according to JTHS Information Technology Services Director Matt Kellett.

“It’s been very useful for community meetings and professional development, as well as for student-focused content,” added Wendy Davis, JTHS Network and Media Manager. “Folks at West were quickly saying, ‘We want a cool video wall.’”

The true level of competitive intensity over the video wall is anyone’s guess, but it’s not hard to imagine students and educators at Central boasting about it to their counterparts at West. While it took a few years to amass the funds, as soon as they were able, district administrators – committed to equity between the schools – authorized implementation of a video wall at West. Kellett and Davis began researching display technology.

THE SOLUTION

ViewSonic was top of mind when the IT team began looking into display wall solutions. Three years prior they had outfitted libraries at both high schools with ViewSonic® ViewBoard® interactive displays, chosen from a review of several manufacturers.

“At that time the ViewSonic interactive displays were the most affordable and had the most desirable features. We ended up also putting them in spaces around the school because everyone wanted them,” said Davis. “Little did we know when we started looking for a video wall that it would be the same story this time around.”

Once again, the team looked at several options, and once again the ViewSonic product won out – and by no small margin, Kellett and Davis agreed.

“When we saw the ViewSonic presentation it was almost like we didn’t need to look at anyone else,” said Davis. “They had the best price by quite a bit and the other three we looked at were the old-style walls that put together several standard displays. The ViewSonic solution was completely seamless.”

It was like the proverbial apples to oranges. On the one hand, traditional video walls made up of large monitors with visible frames that required separate components and on-going maintenance and calibration. On the other, a system of thin and light, perfectly pre-calibrated 12x12-inch panels that install quickly and deliver a huge and completely seamless image in an all-in-one, easy to maintain solution.

The team chose the largest among several available sizes: the ViewSonic 216” LD216-251 1080p Direct View LED Display.

“Sure, ViewSonic had the lowest bid, but the Direct View Display was also the best choice for so many reasons,” said Davis. “It is truly an all-in-one turnkey solution that also was the best-looking of all the options.”

To streamline connectivity and enhance security, the team also purchased ViewSonic ViewBoard Cast Buttons (Model VS18189), which they affectionately call the “pucks.”

THE RESULTS

As expected, installation went smoothly and was completed in less than a full workday.

“We were thrilled with how truly all-inclusive this display is. For setup all we had to do was hook up a network drop and connect remotely. It was seamless,” said Kellett. “And the installation process was interesting to see. First they leveled and attached the brackets, then after that adding the LED panels went very quickly.”

The following week the massive screen was unveiled to West High School staff at an institute day.

“It sounds corny but when they first saw it pretty much everyone was in awe of how it looked,” said Davis. “It is such a superior product than what was installed at Central. Everyone from the principal to the support staff was excited to see a display that big with no seams.”

According to Davis, the display is in use from the start of the school day to well past the last bell on most days.

“During the day it’s used as digital signage, like the one at Central, displaying announcements like sports schedules and extracurricular opportunities, and giving shout outs to students,” she said. “After school teachers use it during club meetings, then after that we often hold community meetings in the space.”

Beyond looking downright amazing, the ViewSonic Direct View LED display has provided enhanced security and features that save time and extend staff resources.

“One terrific feature is the ability to connect in someone who’s remote by giving them a URL link and access code,” said Kellett. “Another great feature that increases our security and saves time is the ViewSonic ViewBoard Cast Button, which plugs into the display and enables visitors to connect to the display without having to access our network.”

Kellett added that the IT team is looking forward to the reduced (and easier) maintenance of the ViewSonic Direct View LED compared to their “old school” video wall.

“With our older video wall if a screen goes bad it’s a major issue. We have to call someone in to take it out and replace it,” he said. “This involves a lot of time leveling the screen and even once it’s positioned perfectly it will never look completely right because it’s newer than the other screens and the calibration will be off.”

By contrast, the ViewSonic Direct LED system came with spare panels right off the bat, said Kellett, and each one is perfectly calibrated in the factory and never needs adjusting.

“Swapping out the LED panels is fast and easy. You need a lift, but beyond that anyone can do it, and this is going to save us time and headaches,” said Kellett.

“For example, say we have an after-hours presentation scheduled. A tech will assess the display and make sure everything is working perfectly. If they need to swap out a panel they can do it in five minutes. With the stacked display wall, you’d be out of luck – you’d have to call in a third party and cancel the presentation.”

Kellett noted that the ViewSonic Cast Button is also a signifi cant timesaver that reduces staff tech support.

“For me the pucks are a huge benefit. With our old video wall, when we have a visitor come in there are often problems with them accessing the screen,” he said. “The puck makes everything seamless and provides peace of mind.”

The list of time-savers goes on, not the least of which is the seamlessness of the LED Display as an all-in-one solution, said Kellett and Davis.

“We didn’t add a single third-party product to this solution: not a media player or anything else was needed,” said Kellett. “This cuts down the components that could require maintenance, adds to the overall system reliability, and keeps this beautiful, thin display clean and aesthetically uncluttered.”

The video wall at Central, by contrast, requires a separate computer and separate software to run it as a digital display.

“At Central there are more components to the system,” said Kellett. “And when there are more components there are more potential points of failure.”

Once more we can imagine that the competitive pride at West continuing to grow, as according to Davis, many area schools have reached out to arrange for viewings.

“The tech director from a neighboring school district was at West for a sporting event, saw our huge display, and is considering it for his school,” said Davis, “We get so many people from the community and surrounding region admiring it.”

A major win in our imagined battle of the video walls came with the annual State of the District event, at which the superintendent hosts community members and area business.

“The event was scheduled to be at Central, and when the organizers saw the ViewSonic Direct View LED wall at West, they mentioned that it was unfortunate that we did not have the same display at both campus, noting that the bar graphs and other content would show up better on the seamless display,” said Kellett.

And so the rivalry goes on. Kellett and Davis, of course, support both schools and are neutral observers, but one thing is clear: When it comes to big screen tech, West is currently in the lead.

“It’s truly outstanding in all the ways we’ve talked about,” said Kellett. “Plus, the colors are so vibrant, they just pop. In this, too, we have found the ViewSonic Direct View LED display to be superior to a traditional video wall.”

LD216-251 Direct View LED

216" Display, 1920 x 1080 Resolution, 600-nit Brightness, 24/7

Learn More

VB-WPS-001

ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® Cast Button

Learn More

Joey Lee

JSL Marketing for ViewSonic [U.S.]
T: 310-592-1712
E: joey@jslcomm.com

Caroline McGrath

CMM Communications for ViewSonic [Canada]
T: 416-972-1642
E: caroline@cmm-communications.com

Nury Lavandier

JSL Marketing for ViewSonic [Latin America]
T: 305-491-0530
E: nury@jslcomm.com

CASE STUDY

School Principal Broadcasts Positivity

Robert E. Lee High School is a public secondary school in Montgomery, Alabama, serving grades nine through 12. According to U.S. News & World Report data, among the student population of 1,386, the total minority enrollment is 95 percent, and 86 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. When Doctor Antjuan Marsh became principal at Robert E. Lee High School, one of the first things he did was assess the school's education technology. The classroom displays, he discovered, were aged, underutilized, and included a difficult-to-manage mix of models that included ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays. Teachers reported that they preferred the ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays because they were easier to use and enabled them to do much more digitally than the Promethean boards.

After assessing the ViewBoard interactive displays, Marsh and the school improvement team agreed to purchase current-model 75-inch ViewSonic ViewBoard interactive displays for every classroom. It was a wise investment. Teachers use the ViewBoard displays daily for instruction, Doctor Marsh said, and are well versed in using the included myViewBoard software tools to boost collaboration and engagement.

"For example, one English teacher breaks students into workstations, with one group working at the ViewBoard display," Doctor Marsh said. "Students can interact with text on the board, which allows them to annotate, highlight, and request audio readings, which is an outstanding way to improve vocabulary and comprehension."

With the instructional technology upgrade behind him, Doctor Marsh turned his attention to finding innovative ways to build a stronger school-wide community. The leader of a school where 80 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches and live in an often violent and uncertain environment.

Doctor Marsh recognized a unique opportunity presented by the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays installed in every classroom across the school. His plan was to leverage the displays to extend the power of the positive through dynamic and compelling school-wide multimedia messaging.

The ViewSonic Manager software included with ViewSonic ViewBoard displays allows for remote centralized management of all networked displays, along with the ability to distribute text-based messages across some or all ViewBoard displays. Text alone, however, was not compelling enough to meet Doctor Marsh's goals. To deliver video and other media messaging, he would need the Manager Advanced subscription-based software upgrade.

The CDC indicates that when students feel connected to their school, they're less likely to experience poor mental health, sexual health risks, substance abuse, and violence. The ViewSonic ViewBoard classroom displays provided an important means of reaching these critical goals.

Doctor Marsh uses videos on connectedness to shape school culture, positively impact social-emotional learning, provide public service announcements, and run safety drills. To capture student attention, he broadcasts these messages to every ViewBoard display in the school at random times, including in the middle of classes.

"I've broadcast many types of messages," Doctor Marsh said. "Most of them are about the great things our students are doing, but the broadcasts are also helpful for utilitarian messages. For example, yesterday we ran a PSA on where and when students can and cannot use cell phones. Teachers appreciate these PSAs because when they see students in the hallways not following the rules, they can remind them of the videos."

Creating the broadcasts is as easy as using his iPhone to record video, along with using apps on his laptop, Doctor Marsh explained, enabling him to edit and add captions. The Manager Advanced software further enables him to broadcast YouTube videos or other web-based content, another feature which he leverages for positive impact. Occasionally he will send messages to certain classes, easily identifying and selecting the ViewBoard display endpoints using the Manager Advanced interface.

As hoped for, the videos have become a happily anticipated part of the school environment. "The more videos I create, the more they want to see them," Doctor Marsh said. "If I can't make it to an event or leave something out that they think should be there, the students let me know."

The opportunities to notice, capture and broadcast connection and caring are endless. On March 14, otherwise known as Pi Day, the school held a pie-throwing event. A student unexpectedly tossed the edible kind at the principal, who accepted the gesture with extreme grace. Someone caught it all on video and it is now one of the many memorable broadcasts bolstering the community at Lee High School.

IFP105S - 105" 5K 21:9 ViewBoard interactive display with integrated microphone and USB-C

CASE STUDY

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) Finds Versatile Hybrid Education Solution in ViewSonic ViewBoard Interactive Displays

SCHOOL

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) was founded in 1994 and has been a member of Laureate International Universities, the largest network of private universities in the world, since September 2004. UPC’s vision is to be at the forefront of higher education for its academic excellence and innovation. UPC currently has over 60,000 students, 58 undergraduate programs and more than 20 graduate programs across four campuses in Lima, Peru.

"We decided to use the ViewBoard interactive displays because they gave us the ease of connecting any type of device. It was also from one of the few brands that could provide the equipment quickly during the pandemic, coupled with our trust in ViewSonic and the relationship we had already built”

— SILVANA BALAREZO, UPC DIGITAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE MANAGER

THE CHALLENGE

Following the pandemic, UPC leaders wanted to foster a return to in-person education, without losing the technology literacy they had gained after two years of lockdown.

“We were looking for a technological proposal that would not be complex for teachers to use or distract them from their teaching process, and we wanted a technology that could be feasible over time to take advantage of all the lessons learned by teachers and students,” says Silvana Balarezo, Digital Learning Experience Manager at UPC.

UPC had already been using ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® interactive displays in academic environments, creative rooms and a pilot student project which still continues today.

“We decided to use the ViewBoard interactive displays because they gave us the ease of connecting any type of device. It was also from one of the few brands that could provide the equipment quickly during the pandemic, coupled with our trust in ViewSonic and the relationship we had already built,” Balarezo said.

One of UPC’s main objectives was that students benefit from any education mode. If a student attended face-to-face lessons, they should feel that it was worth coming to the campus, and an online student should feel as if they were inside the classroom sharing the same experience as their classmates, with no need to come to the physical classroom. 

This is the reason why UPC adopted the Hyflex concept in which hybrid classrooms are designed to function as physical, 100% remote or both, without affecting education quality or the learning experience in thanks to the equipment used.

“Our mission was to make professors feel comfortable in the classroom. We didn’t want them to feel that they were in a recording studio,” said Balarezo. “The classroom needed to have the technological tools to motivate learning and support collaborative activities between face-to-face and online students.”

THE SOLUTION

ViewSonic set up 72 classrooms with ViewBoard IFP8650 86” Ultra HD 4K displays, along with VPC25-W33-P1 slot-in PCs with Windows 10 Pro, and Viewboard Cast™ software for Windows licenses. This setup allowed students and teachers to make wireless presentations from any of their devices to the displays using a licensed application.

In addition, UPC added wireless physical classroom microphones for teachers and students, a pro camera for streaming and a secondary display so that the teacher can view and manage remote students. This very successful layout was designed after taking into account UPC’s previous experiences with online and hybrid classrooms.

“We should highlight that the ViewSonic slot-in PCs, which are installed on the back of the ViewBoard display, deliver computing power without the traditional wiring required to connect a PC,” said Balarezo. “This provides a user-friendly environment for professors to manage the display, the online sessions, and the use of online classrooms and videoconferences.” 

In addition, a teacher certification process was implemented for the ViewBoard displays. UPC currently has 200 certified professors and 800 teachers undergoing the certification process. 

“Our professors were initially apprehensive because of what we had experienced during the pandemic, but once classes started, students also accepted the new education mode. Today, faculty members encourage diversified student interaction in the classroom, including online and face-to-face student groups and work, in addition to promoting autonomous learning,” said Balarezo. 

THE RESULTS

Students highly value the possibility of choosing between face-to-face or online learning, with the same advantages and benefits in either learning mode. 

Professors value the convenience and agility with which they work using the ViewBoard interactive displays, including the myViewBoard^® Whiteboard software for highlighting and creating content, which helps to provide better presentations. 

“Having a group of face-to-face and online students provides a lot of flexibility to interact. It is essential for the development of autonomous learning and also for students to feel engaged and identify with the university,” said Elías Neira, Education History and Philosophy Professor at UPC. 

ViewBoard IFP8650

86" interactive display

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VPC25-W33-P1

ViewBoard OPS-C-i5 slot-in PC

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myViewBoard Suite

Full software suite includes secure cloud storage, multiple presentation options, digital whiteboarding and more.

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CASE STUDY

ViewSonic ViewBoard Displays Boost Digital Education “Revolution” in Struggling School District

CUSTOMER PROFILE

The Hoquiam School District, founded in 1891, serves over 1,600 students in the city of Hoquiam, located in western Washington state. To achieve the district’s mission of Linking Learning to Life, Hoquiam consistently strives to be a world leader in employing the latest in educational technology, curricular design, and equity and inclusion principles. The district operates three elementary schools: Emerson, Lincoln, and Central; the Hoquiam Middle School; Hoquiam High School; and an alternative learning environment, Homelink.

“Student engagement is the essential element in successful teaching. I think the most important thing teachers do is earn students’ attention. The ViewBoard displays are like a cheat code – they draw students in and kids want to get up and touch them.”

— Chris Nitti: Digital Age Coordinator, Hoquiam School District

THE CHALLENGE

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Hoquiam School District, like so many across the country, was ill-equipped to meet the needs of remote learning. To address this challenge, Superintendent Dr. Mike Villarreal charged English and technology teacher Chris Nitti with providing immediate-response support to educators that were learning to teach remotely on the fly. The following year, Dr. Villarreal promoted Nitti to Digital Age Coordinator, tasking him with determining and deploying technology to upgrade the district’s digital teaching capabilities.

“At the start of the 2021-22 school year I inherited a tech department run for 30 years by the person who started it in 1993, who ran the first five cables,” said Nitti. “Most technology was well beyond end-of-life. We didn’t have the infrastructure needed to support technology-based learning.”

The seismic changes brought by the pandemic called for a corresponding seachange in the district’s approach to education technology. Additionally, Nitti envisioned equipping the community’s young people with critical career skills.

“There’s a tech industry hungry for trained people,” said Nitti. “Along with using tech for teaching, we can give students technology skills that they can use to work remotely right from Hoquiam.”

Before this Hoquiam technology revolution could begin, Nitti and his team would have to equip teachers with the tools and training they needed to deliver on this visionary goal.

THE SOLUTION

Difficult as it was, the Covid-19 pandemic was also the spark that helped ignite the flame of the Hoquiam edtech revolution. Students needed individual devices to be successful at remote learning. Educators needed support and training in how to use these new tools.

“At the direction of Dr. Villarreal, we set out to bring the district up to 21st century digital learning standards,” said Nitti. “The first step was to tap into FCC EFC grants to procure student Chromebooks. After that, the goal was to equip classrooms with interactive displays.”

With two grants across two years, Nitti and his team created the first true 1:1 fleet. Every student now had a Chromebook less than 1 year old. Next, Nitti teamed up with KC Merchant, supervisor of the Washington State Digital Equity and Inclusion grant, and John Buyse at reseller partner Vivacity. With the support of Merchant, the district earned a substantial DEI grant. Buyse arranged demonstrations of interactive flat panel (IFP) displays from six major manufacturers.

Right away, it was clear that the ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^® IFPs were a perfect fit for the district, said both Nitti and Tech Assistant Jen Thorp. The integrated myViewBoard software tools were intuitive and expansive. The touch response and image quality were outstanding. And the IT team was thrilled with the centralized management that would allow them to handle all maintenance without having to physically go to seven buildings.

“We’re a MAC district and it was notable for us that the ViewBoard displays connect with a single USB cable,” said Nitti. “We just connect them and they work. It couldn’t be more simple or efficient.”

What’s more, Nitti emphasized, was that ViewSonic was the only company that sent a team along with their demo display.

“Our sales rep, a trainer, and the ViewSonic national sales manager all came to Hoquiam. That meant a lot to us,” said Nitti.

Thrilled to move forward with this level of support, the IT team purchased 105 ViewBoard IFPs – one for every classroom, library and learning lab. That order was quickly followed by one for another 16 ViewBoard displays, for specialists and coaches.

“Everyone wanted a ViewBoard,” said Nitti. “I took a demo board to the schools, showed them what it could do, and the ViewBoard sold itself.”

THE RESULTS

The start of the 2022-23 school year was unlike any other in the history of Hoquiam. Not only did every student walk in with a personal Chromebook, virtually every teacher, coach and other educator was ready to begin engaging and educating using their ViewSonic ViewBoard IFP. This was better than Nitti had anticipated.

“Initially we planned three rollouts spanning the summer and the upcoming school year. The pandemic years were tough on our teachers and I only expected twenty percent or so to take time away from their summer plans to do extra training,” said Nitti.

To his happy surprise, 97 of the district’s 105 teachers signed up for the training needed to receive a ViewBoard at the start of the school year.

“Those that didn’t sign up had conflicts, otherwise they would have been there,” Nitti said. “If that’s not buy-in, I don’t know what is!”

Hoquiam teachers embraced the potential provided by the ViewBoard displays as they planned their curriculum for the new school year.

“We coached them to see the ViewBoard as a full ecosystem, not just a board you can write on,” said Nitti. “It’s essentially an entire classroom support system: anything teachers do on their Chromebook, iPad or phone they can throw to the screen, then several students can annotate on it. The applications are endless.”

A middle school teacher who received two ViewBoard displays to support her stations-based approach to math education exemplifies this versatility.

“This outstanding math teacher does incredible work with stations. She’s like a juggler, it’s incredible to watch,” said Nitti. “We set her up with two displays and two management accounts so that she can be logged into both at once and guide students to bounce between complementary activities on the ViewBoard displays.”

District English teachers tell Nitti that the ViewBoard displays will be a game changer, adding mobility, proximity and interactivity to lessons.

“In the past, our teachers were stuck behind their desks. Now they can display the assignment on the ViewBoard, move around the classroom to work with students individually, and direct them to interact with the board,” said Nitti.

Beyond core subjects, educators throughout the district are finding unique ways to use the ViewSonic ViewBoard displays to increase engagement.

For example, said Nitti, not only can the high school athletic coaches review recorded game tape with students on the large ViewBoard screen, they can stop the recording, annotate on top of the video, then keep this record for reference.

“The technology is enabling things that weren’t possible before,” said Nitti, “The coaches say, it’s just like ESPN! They’re certain this will amp up engagement in sports.”

An elementary PE teacher that works with mobility-impaired students asked Nitti to create an app for the ViewBoard that turns it into an interactive target board. Students learning to throw would receive a visual reward when they successfully hit the target. While Nitti acknowledges that this is a bit of an “out there use case,” he has no doubts about making it a reality. He knows that the ViewBoard displays can take it.

“When evaluating displays, I always do what I call a ‘knock test,’” he said. “The ViewSonic ViewBoard IFPs have the toughest surface I’ve come across. I can pound on it and it does no damage.”

Engagement is the common denominator of the countless ways in which Hoquiam educators are using (and plan to use) the ViewBoard displays.

“Student engagement is the essential element in successful teaching,” said Nitti. “I think the most important thing teachers do is earn students’ attention. The ViewBoard displays are like a cheat code – they draw students in and kids want to get up and touch them.”

ViewSonic^® ViewBoard^®

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