Epson projectors help Burbach school make lessons interactive

Modern teaching methods attempt to make lessons as meaningful as possible for holistic learning, regardless of the method of teaching - audio, visual, reading or writing. Burbach community school turned to Epson projectors to help bring lessons to life

Burbach community school in Germany is currently attended by approximately 440 pupils aged 12 and over, and places a lot of importance on modern and effective teaching. Efficient teaching methods and appropriate teaching materials play an important role in this. "We'd known about the potential of whiteboards and interactive projection solutions for modern teaching for a long time," explains Jörgen Kuhnke, IT teacher and technology supervisor. "We acquired our first complete solutions as early as 2011 and introduced them as a complement to conventional chalkboards in teaching. We've since done without traditional media devices such as overhead projectors in a lot of our classrooms."

Originally, the school had tehse solutions installed only in specialist rooms. However, based on positive feedback from pupils and teachers, further expansion was quickly planned. Shortly before the summer holidays in 2014, the school board decided to acquire additional solutions for five standard classrooms.

However, following their experience with the initial equipment, a different approach was taken when choosing further equipment. The projectors acquired in 2011 were showing serious weaknesses after only three years. The brightness of the DLP projectors had significantly decreased after a relatively short operating life. "Unless we blacked out the classrooms, we only had limited use of the projectors during daytime," Jörgen confirms. "In a lot of cases, we needed to change the bulbs after less than two years. We therefore desperately needed a cost-effective alternative."

The requirements for any new equipment were clearly defined. The next projector would need to be sustainable in terms of operating and maintenance costs, and would have at least the same range of functions as the devices already in use.

The school chose the interactive EB-585Wi 3LCD ultra-short throw projector from Epson. "We were won over immediately by its high colour and white brightness in daylight and its intuitive operation via two interactive pens which could be used like computer mice," Jörgen states. "In addition, it was confirmed that, from experience, the ultra-short throw projectors have very low maintenance costs."

The Epson projectors are also very versatile. Thanks to integrated whiteboard software, they can even be used without an external PC. Furthermore, the moderator function allows you to pause on-going presentations without needing to turn the device off - this way, pupils pay maximum attention to what's currently being taught.

The decision to acquire the new board systems and interactive Epson ultra-short throw projectors was an easy one to make. 

After a short training session, the five board systems and projectors were integrated into everyday teaching. Additional on-site training wasn't needed due to the simplicity of the devices, and thanks to the long service life of the bulbs, the operating and maintenance costs of the new solutions are low.

Looking back, Jörgen Kuhnke seems very happy with the school's decision, "We've been using Epson solutions for almost two years now, and we've never had any problems or issues to report. We haven't seen any major decreases in brightness like we had with the previous solutions, and we're very satisfied with the devices in terms of teaching. Their large range of functions and easy operation gives us teachers more time to focus on lessons."

Building on these positive experiences, the school board plans to equip the remaining classrooms with Epson projection solutions. In addition, Burbach community school will be opening a new site in the neighbouring district of Neunkirchen soon. There are already firm plans to acquire interactive projector and whiteboard systems for classrooms in the Burbach-Neunkirchen community secondary school as well.