Veurs Lyceum chooses EB-450Wi interactive projector

The Veurs Lyceum is a modern, small-scale school providing secondary education and vocational training at various levels, with approximately 800 pupils, 70 teachers and 20 teaching assistants. ICT plays a leading role at Veurs Lyceum, and for some years it has been an official “ICT vanguard school”. As an ICT vanguard school with a government grant, the Veurs Lyceum was able to set up and equip a unique learning centre with 80 personal computers. Also all students now also have high-speed internet connection via optic fibre. This year, for the first time, the final exams at the Veurs Lyceum were conducted digitally.

Present situation and needs

“Before the projectors were introduced, we used whiteboards in class. When, at the beginning of 2000, the need to project PowerPoint presentations arose, we went in search of a suitable solution,” says Patrick Verver, systems manager at the Veurs Lyceum. “We bought an Epson projector and installed it in our video conference space. When ICT started to play a role in education, we saw a growing need for our teachers to be able to make presentations and show films in class.”

Solution

Every classroom in the Veurs Lyceum has an Epson overhead projector permanently attached to the ceiling. “In a number of classrooms we use Epson short throw projectors. We don’t have the same space available in every room, so these projectors enable us to project from short distance. We chose Epson because the lamps are simple to replace and reliable. All the projectors use the same type of lamp, so we only have to keep two or three in stock,” says Verver. "These projectors are already the fourth generation of Epson projectors that we’ve used. At the moment we’re using the EMP series, which will probably be replaced in the future by a projector from the EB series, to which interactive ultra-short-throw projectors have been added.”

The interactive ultra-short-throw projector is designed in the first instance to enable students with physical limitations to be able to work normally. “A less pleasant reason for getting to know a new Epson product, but one that has borne fruit. With an active tablet that forms part of the whole system in the classroom, the student could write on the 'board' from behind his desk; this was projected by the projector and the students could simply write on the interactive surface. From his seat, the student added his comments and/or improvements. A nice combined use of different products. Apart from that, I must admit there was a need for more interactivity in the classroom.

"Developments in the field of ICT don’t stand still and, with the advent of interactive school boards and projectors, we have asked our supplier, ITS-computers from Leidschendam, for advice. It was ITS-computers who originally recommended the EB-450Wi interactive ultra-short-throw projector to us,” says Verver. The EB-450Wi was the predecessor of the current EB-475Wi and EB-485Wi projectors.

Advantages

The Veurs Lyceum has consciously opted for interactive projectors as opposed to interactive whiteboards. According to Verver, the advantage of the Epson interactive projectors is that the existing whiteboards do not have to be replaced. The board can still be written on with markers and, at the same time, the projector converts the standard board into an interactive surface. Maths teacher Frank van Leeuwen also speaks highly of the mixed use of the projector.

“I write homework assignments on the board and I use the projector to explain the content of the lessons. With Epson interactive projectors you can involve the students more in the lesson. Solid geometry is a difficult part of mathematics, so it’s great to be able to visualise and clarify this with the help of the projector. Just as I have noticed that, in mathematical analysis, it helps if I can stand at the board and show students what happens when you shift a graph. I can see that students really like this. Before we had the interactive projectors, I sat behind my computer, which was a more distant and, for me, less pleasant way of teaching. If you stand in front of the board you can interact with the students. Apart from that, students are accustomed to interaction. It’s what they do.”

Verver continues, “At first I was sceptical about Epson interactive projectors. I tried to stop the pen from working, using a remote control that also works with an infrared lamp. The EB-450Wi is not sensitive to this and cannot be fooled, unlike other brands with which this trick was successful. In that respect the Epson projector surpassed my expectations,” recounts Verver with a laugh.

Van Leeuwen says that, at first, the students also wanted to see how exactly an interactive projector like this worked, “They would come and look at the interactive surface from close up, but came to the conclusion that there was no technology in the board, it all came from the projector.”

Another advantage, according to Verver, is that with ultra-short-throw projectors there is no disturbance from shadows, since the interactive projector works at such a short range onto the whiteboard. The interactive projectors can also be installed quickly, as they do not need to be adjusted to a board. ITS-computers were therefore able to install four a day, as opposed to the two per day they had initially estimated. “You just hang them up and that’s it. You certainly save costs in man hours when you compare it with a projector and a whiteboard,” says Verver. The Veurs Lyceum has five EB-450Wi ultra short throw projectors in use. Verver expects a number of new EB-475Wi or EB-485Wi projectors to be added in the next few years.

“We get compliments from teachers on the quality and operation of the Epson projectors. What we do notice is that not all teachers are yet familiar with all the interactive possibilities and digital developments. Product development is advancing fast, teachers’ knowledge somewhat less so. For that reason we continue to work on improving teachers’ product knowledge. A number of the younger teachers maintain that they could no longer give lessons without projectors. They have technology really ingrained in them. So I’m curious as to what surprises Epson has in store for us in the next few years,” concludes Verver.