Education sector worldwide is now recognizing that the transformation power of digital and smart classroom solutions is forcing them to rethink their business models to match consumer expectations and competitive pressure.
Institutions are required to keep up with the transformation of the classroom and leverage modern technology and interactive content to improve the learning experience. Along with the learning experience, the transformation technologies are impacting operation model, business model (sustainable funding model) and ultimately the entire education ecosystem.
Our customer in this success story is a leading provider of an end-to-end plug and play smart classroom solutions for schools that can transform a regular classroom into a smart one. With more than 22,500 employees operating in 70 countries, customer provides content, assessment and digital services to learners, educational institutions, employers, governments and other partners globally. They partner with educational institutions to develop and deliver tailored educational products and services enabling students to learn more effectively.
They wanted to maximize the reach of their smart classrooms programs by increasing penetration in schools across India. Embee became their end-to-end execution partner where our engineers implemented Smart class Infrastructure & Digital Software and are actively supporting 2500+ smart classrooms in schools across the Eastern and North-Eastern states of India.
Implementing Right Hardware at Right Cost was our Customer’s Biggest Challenge
Our customer is a smart classrooms solutions provider and the initiative demanded extensive hardware procurement, setup and support. They required a hardware partner that could support them in procuring and implementing the right hardware at the right cost.
There were several challenges that could affect the successful completion of the project: –
Implementation & Customization
The smart classroom solution was to be extended to 200+ schools in the Eastern India. Many schools were in remote locations and sourcing necessary hardware resources as well as getting internet connectivity were considerably difficult.
All the schools also had varying infrastructural facilities and setups, which required customized solution’s. The implementation required an extensively experienced implementation partner that could solve these challenges and ensure that the feature-rich, smart classroom solution was made launched within stipulated timelines.
Infrastructure Support
While the customer could provide support for their software solution, they did not have the required expertise to provide hardware and infrastructure support including operating system, virtual platform support and remote support.
Since the solution was highly dependent upon hardware components and server connectivity, their seamless functioning was essential. Support was additionally complicated by the lack of dedicated IT resources in the school premises as well as remote locations.
End-To-End Implementation and Support for 2500+ Smart Classrooms
Embee’s prior experience at end-to-end implementation of smart classroom solutions and large-scale infrastructure projects made us the partner of choice for our customer.
We continue to provide end-to-end support for the 2500+ classroom solutions deployed and are also supporting the customer in the implementation of the solution as well as upgradation in new schools. The salient features of our solution included:
Setting up Digital-Classrooms
The Digital – Classroom setup process involved 3 key sub processes – procurement, installation and configuration. Embee directly conducted the site inspection, comprehensive designing part and necessary listing of materials.
Our engineers conducted site surveys to enable procurement of all relevant hardware such as servers, projectors, network cabling and speaker systems and then proceeded with implementation and configuration.
Key elements of the implemented solution included: –
- Projectors to ensure that sessions can viewed from every corner of the classroom and facilitate better use of audio-visual content.
- Smartboard/Interactive Whiteboard to make teaching sessions more dynamic and immersive.
- Speaker Systems to address the issue of unequal audibility across the classroom and ensure better communications during sessions.
- Unified/Standalone Servers were installed in every classroom along with a computer system to carry out sessions.
- Digital-Classroom Software is a high-value adding interactive medium for teachers or students and forms the backbone of the classroom digitization solution.
Configuration & Activation
Embee’s engineers worked on-site at the schools to configure the entire solution, connect and configure the different hardware components and build connectivity with the customer’s main server in Bangalore.
Embee then worked on the activation of the selected smart classroom module. Depending upon the requirement and assessment by Embee, the customer and school could choose between a standalone and server-client setup.
Support
Embee was responsible for working both with the customer and the schools to resolve any issues at any of the school locations. Embee’s engineers would travel to the remote locations, inspect and inform of the problem arising along with suggesting a solution.
Reporting
Embee’s team-maintained records of all materials purchased, progress of implementation and support requests – which were submitted to the customer for validation. Daily status reporting was also an integral part of the project. Our engineers were required to submit reports to the central monitoring team, which were then conveyed to the client.
Enhancement of Rich Learning Experience with Embee’s Smart Classrooms Implementation
Effective and Speedy Implementation
The presence of professional and experienced engineers enabled a speedy implementation without the schools needing to disrupt their regular classes and operations.
Facilitation of Rich Learning Experience
Building a stand-alone (single classroom) or client-server architecture (multiple classroom with centralized course repository) along with smart classroom solutions comprising of different standard course material, fully operational digital classroom, helped facilitate a richer learning process for the institutions.
Integration and Support Partner
The availability of Embee as an implementation, integration, and support partner enabled the schools to be able to focus upon the core tasks of ensuring that the solution enhances their classroom experience.
Strong reporting and co-ordination structures
Embee’s strong reporting and co-ordination structures ensured that the systems were successfully implemented and configured for each individual school.
The transition to digital is leading to a whole lot of new exciting opportunities in creating immersive and collaborative learning experiences for the customer. Embee works with education providers that are looking to lead the way in leveraging technology to advance learning and development with end-to-end to support and implementation services.
Embee works with education providers that are looking to lead the way in leveraging technology to advance learning and development. Technology today provides you with the opportunity to not only answer some of the largest research questions, but also create truly immersive and secure learning experiences. We can help you get there. Just drop your queries at connect@embee.co.in.
