Located in the suburbs of Melbourne Australia, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College (OLSH) is a secondary Catholic college that has been educating and encouraging girls grades 7-12.
For the past 80 years, ‘Believe and Achieve’ has been at the heart of OLSH’s vision and to continue to aspire to this, they were looking to improve classroom technology, both for the teachers and the students. Prior to the installation of Barco’s wePresent and ClickShare, there were no wireless projection solutions in the college. Barco provided a simple solution that allowed staff, students and guests to seamlessly connect to screens and projectors.
To empower their students and remain at the forefront of innovative and collaborative learning, OLSH needed to resolve the issue of multiple devices being used in classrooms for a singular purpose. To share any aspect of the classroom electronically, be it knowledge, data, research, images, or reports, a concerted undertaking was required.
Fixed cables were the staple of each classroom and limited teachers to the front of the classroom near the AV plate. Sharing USB’s limited the number of devices connected or sharing information. Students also had to embark on the cumbersome task of going to the front of the room and individually connecting their personal device in order to share their projects with the classroom. Not all devices were compatible or reliable.
Singular solution improves classroom active learning
While the problems presented were multiple, the solution was singular. By installing wePresent in a classroom, and ClickShare in a meeting room, every person could share any element of information from any location in that room from any device.
However, incorporating new technology across the college could require a learning curve that many didn’t have the time or interest in overcoming. Technology was needed to improve a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to teach, not create more work for the staff or detract additional time from classwork. Again, Barco provided a winning product that was met with resounding positivity. The ongoing installation will eventually provide the entire college with over 65 devices in every single one of its classrooms, meeting spaces and public spaces so that the education can remain exciting and accessible.
Clear, shared classroom communication
“Our classrooms are able to be more interactive and unlimited because of technology, instead of hampered by it. Allowing our students to engage and share their own knowledge and understanding with each other in such an easy way is in line with our school’s goal of educating students in a vibrant, supportive setting,” states Anne O’Loughlin, Principal of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College.
Barco is looking forward to installing the remainder of the wePresent and ClickShare devices at OLSH. “To provide this higher learning institution with additional tools that help foster education and knowledge sharing has us thrilled. To see our products be used and applied so effortlessly and to such resounding positivity is satisfying on many levels,” said Liesl Flourie, Australia and New Zealand Distributor, Barco.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
