Epson Brightens up Education at St Dominics’s School

In February 2014, St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls in Boksburg, South Africa, embarked on a major upgrade of its technology and networking resources throughout the school. Its aim was to create a network that could support 2000 devices with ease.

One of the elements of this upgrade was to install an audio-visual solution to assist the teachers in working more effectively with their 1100 pupils, who range in age from four to 18.

St Dominic’s had previously installed a number of interactive boards and projectors in several classrooms, which were successful. However, the school wanted a standardized solution across all the classrooms, and consulted with Marcus Retief and his team at Compute Corporate Technology Solutions to advise which solution would be the most future-proof and cost-effective for its needs.

Retief recommended the Epson EB-485Wi interactive short throw projector because its 3LCD and Colour Light output (CLO) technology allows for brighter, crisper and more detailed images to be shown to the pupils. The projectors also offered good value for money, and intelligent interactive solutions for classroom activities.

The projector delivers 3100 lumens of Colour Light Output (CLO) and 3100 lumens of White Light Output (WLO) with the projector using 3LCD three chip technologies ensuring true-to-life colour and brilliant images.

Epson EB-485Wi interactive short throw projectors have been networked with all the classrooms at St Dominic’s school so that content can be shared across the school at the same time.

It’s been over a year since the projectors were installed, and now that they are fully functional, the teachers have changed the way they educate the students, creating a positive impact on their learning, from Pre-Primary school to high school.

The trial period for the Epson EB-485Wi projectors took place in the library of the pre-primary school, where English enrichment took place for those who were battling with English as their first language. The Grade 0s were encouraged to use all their senses by seeing a moving creature and hearing the noise it makes – bringing the words on the screen to life, and making the lesson more effective.

“The Epson projectors allow for a continuous interactive and exciting way of teaching,” says Debbie Meyer, principal of the pre-school at St Dominic’s. “For example, teachers encourage the children to write over letters projected onto the board, which makes learning letters into a much more effective multi-sensory experience.”

The Epson EB-485Wi interactive short throw projector is a high performance, network-ready projector, supplied with interactive pens that integrate interactive functionality into one machine.

“The pupils are a lot more involved and are more attentive and responsive to something that’s moving rather than static,” explains Meyer. “Teachers can also record the pupils as they recite numbers or words, making it possible to offer an added layer of feedback.”

Two pens are supplied with each projector, and users can ‘write’ simultaneously, giving teachers the opportunity to make their teaching experience even more engaging by inviting pupils to take part in demonstrations or explanations.

The impressive ultra-short throw of the Epson EB-485Wi interactive projector means that teachers can project large images of up to 100 inches without shadow interference. 

The Epson EB-4585Wi projectors have changed the way the primary school teachers teach their pupils, especially for Maths, as teachers can use built-in protractors, for example.

“Having the internet and interactive capabilities in the palm of your hands has made it even easier for me and my inquisitive pupils to answer questions as they come up in class,” says Tammy Bradbury, Head of Department Grade 6 and 7’s at St Dominic’s School. “I can look up examples instantly for my pupils in class and display them through interactive projection. This ability has helped immensly with my student’s understanding of challenging Maths problems”

“When the projectors were first installed in the high school, it was difficult to adjust the teacher’s teaching techniques, but once they had adapted to the concept of paperless teaching, learners become more eager to engage and interact with the projector and each other,” says Martina Tuniz, Director of Academics for the high school at St Dominic’s School.

“The teachers’ teaching methods have evolved significantly, and work completed in a lesson is now saved on the projectors and emailed to their pupils within a few minutes of the lesson being completed.” This has helped the teachers to ensure that the pupils have the correct information for homework, study purposes and revision.

The school’s entire technology upgrade project was centered on providing the best possible solutions for its teachers and pupils, within the budget that was allocated. It was also imperative that the solutions implemented would be sustainable, and of sufficiently advanced technology that they would not need to be replaced any time soon. The Epson projector solution that was supplied by Compute Corporate Technology Solutions has certainly met – and continues to exceed St Dominic’s high interactive learning expectations.