Hurrairah bin Sohail speaks with Jeffrey Liang about how the education sector can create ‘blended’ learning environments that deliver for both students and staff whether they are on-premise or joining from remote locations.
The importance of education is self-evident. So, when education is disrupted, it is a matter of grave concern. Jeffrey Liang, president of BenQ
Asia Pacific, speaks about the
challenges facing education and
how the sector is evolving to ensure
that students can continue to learn
and grow.
The education sector has been
heavily disrupted by Covid-19.
The focus of schools is on
ensuring that students can
continue learning whether it
be in-person or from remote
locations without loss of
progression. What has BenQ
discovered in terms of the
new norm of education?
These are definitely difficult times
for the education sector as it battles
the disruption that is caused by
Covid-19. But one of the core pieces
of feedback we are receiving from
schools and education institutes is
that face-to-face education is
necessary. Schooling and education
are not only about gaining
knowledge, they also help develop
your skills with your peers around
you. Education helps the students
build core skills of collaboration,
interaction, leadership, critical
thinking and problem solving
which help them throughout their
whole life.
With this is mind, the education
sector is looking to make sure that
learning environments are safe and
secure for students to return to.
Education end users are looking to
make a return to learning spaces
and schools safe with health-related
concerns taking priority.
However, at the same time
they are aware that safety must be
guaranteed for students before any
return can be possible and that they
may have to operate with remote
learning for some time more. This
leads us to a push for ‘blended’
learning where both in-person
students and remote students can
be catered to with the help of
technology that allows them to
interact and collaborate and feel
like they are participating in the
same lesson experiencing the same
teaching quality.
As you mentioned, in-person
learning can only be resumed
if the safety of students,
staff and teachers can be
guaranteed. Can BenQ’s
solutions help educational
institutes address the health
concerns over in-person
learning activities?
From back in 2016, BenQ has
always been trying to invest in our
interactive display technologies
with a focus on health elements for
teaching and learning, and our
latest solutions have been designed,
keeping in mind the needs and
health concerns of school-going
students and their parents. We’ve
been developing features that put
the health of the people in learning
spaces at the core of our products
and these features have just become
even more vital considering the
current global situation.
Based on studies and our
observations, ‘germs’, ‘poor
indoor air quality’ and
‘continuous exposure to screen
blue lights and flickers causing
digital eye strain and myopia’
were and still are the key health
concerns in classrooms.
Of course, factors that spread
disease and viruses are at the
forefront of everybody’s minds at
present. Our third generation of
germ-resistant screens incorporate
higher concentrations of nanoionic silver compounds and are
cured together with the anti-glare
coating and tempered glass, giving
the screen longer lasting antibacteria properties than any
conventional germ-resistant screen
or spray on the market. Most
importantly, our screens are
certified by TÜV and SIAA that
prove the efficacy of germresistance and non-toxicity.
Also, poor in-door air quality
and ventilation can cause cough,
eye imitation, allergic reactions,
asthma, headache and disease
transmission, impacting student
academic performance and learning
efficiency.
With built-in Air Quality Sensors,
it helps measure and display key
environmental parameters in
classrooms including temperature,
humidity, PM 2.5, P10, CO2 and
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)
concentration levels, allowing
teachers to intervene with
appropriate actions in real-time.
Switching to students that
are accessing learning from
remote locations, delivering
quality education to them
and keeping them engaged is
also important. How can
BenQ’s solutions ensure that
the lives of teachers and
remote students are made
easier?
It all starts with schools and
universities developing a
comprehensive plan for remote
learning that takes into account
the needs of the remote students
and the tools that will be required
to enable a ‘blended’ learning
approach. Technology has to be a
key component of this plan. BenQ
offers a range of future-proof
display solutions for blended
learning classrooms that address
the needs of the teachers,
in-person students and remote
students.
In order to let the teacher
ensure in-class and remote
students’ feedback and reactions
and have students interact with
each other online, here we
suggest schools to place an
interactive flat panel with a
webcam in the centre of the
classroom as a main teaching
tool, and a smart projector as a
second display for the teacher to
see real reactions from remote
students. The teacher can share
their teaching materials using
their own videoconferencing
software.
For smaller sized classrooms,
a smart projector is a complete
choice in itself. Our smart
projector has built-in internet
connectivity and web browser,
enabling videoconferencing
and wireless sharing of teaching
material from their mobile
device, tablet or notebook.
And of course, a by-product of
learning from home or remote
locations is increased screen
time and exposure to blue light
and flickers which can cause
digital eye strain and myopia.
In addition to PC, laptops can
also be connected to an eye
care monitor which brings
more comfort to the learning
experience. These features
empower students with a
tiredness-free screen that ensures
that classes don’t take a toll on
children’s eyesight.
We’ve seen the classroom
and learning spaces really
change over a short span of
time. What directions are
learning spaces going to
further evolve in?
I think the biggest evolution
of the classroom and learning
spaces will see them shift from
one display to two displays as
the standard. Before Covid-19, we
were already seeing a shift to the
digital classroom. We were seeing
display sizes increase. Three
years ago, a 65-in display was
considered big but now we are
seeing 75-in or 80-in displays
being common in classrooms
and I expect the display sizes to
continue increasing.
The increase in display sizes
was being brought about as
a response to the fact that
students were presenting
materials on screen as part of
the ‘flipped classroom’ and
there was an active push from
governments to increase
students’ accessibility to digital
tools such as notebooks and
laptops.
Today, Covid-19 has further
accelerated the rate of digital
transformation. Schools and
universities not only have to
meet the needs of students in
the classroom, they also have to
ensure the presence of remote
students and I believe that the
solution to this is a second display
in learning spaces.
Whether it is two flat panels,
two projectors, or a flat panel and
a projector combination, I believe
that this is now a requirement in
the education sector. One display
will not be good enough. In a
two-display scenario a teacher
can still maintain a screen for
them to use and control while
having another display for the
students to access and present
on. And of course, we at BenQ
are happy to help schools and
universities determine what is
the best display solution for their
needs.