CHALLENGE
Tuscaloosa City Schools wanted to select the best display for the district to standardize on to help increase interactivity and student engagement. Key components when deciding on the technology were image size, simplicity, network management, and Chromebook collaboration.
SOLUTION
Standardizing on the Epson BrightLink ultra shortthrow interactive display to provide students with large, bright collaborative workspaces well-suited for modern classrooms.
A Districtwide Digital Transformation
An F4 tornado tore through the heart of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and left a trail of destruction across the city. Tuscaloosa City Schools (TCS), serving 10,600 students, felt massive losses throughout its 21 school buildings and had to completely rebuild two of its facilities. When the schools were rebuilt, they became models for the district’s future. In addition to the construction and renovations taking place, the district took this opportunity to design a curriculum that better met students’ needs and integrated technology to make coming to school more exciting for students. As part of this rebuilding, the Board of Education for TCS passed the Integrated Curriculum Facilities Demographic Strategic Plan. The plan laid out a structural framework to reshape how the district approached instruction and took a deep look at educational programs. The superintendent’s recommendations highlighted investments in staff, curriculum, teaching, and learning. The plan that emerged was shaped by the need to provide spaces where students could work together and learn the skills needed for future jobs. Since the plan passed, the district has made several changes in its classrooms. The district built five new facilities and renovated existing buildings to ensure that it was adding additional learning spaces. “We redesigned the libraries as discovery centers to make it much more open for students to move around and collaborate,” said Chris Jenks, director of technology at TCS. In addition to creating new learning spaces for students, part of the plan was to complete a digital transformation across the school system.
Pilot Classrooms
To help prioritize what would be best for the school community – both teachers and students – the district designed pilot classrooms to help determine which technologies would truly transform learning in its classrooms. The district tested different displays, including projection displays and flat panels. They were looking for the most practical product that would have the greatest impact in classrooms. After the pilot, the district made the decision to standardize on Epson’s BrightLink interactive displays. “BrightLink interactive displays are easy to support and great in terms of flexibility,” said Jenks. The BrightLink ultimately became a key piece of their digital transformation. “We piloted flat panels, but the display is very limited,” said Jenks. “Ultimately, we chose the BrightLink display because it offers vibrant images, versatility, interactivity and a great warranty.”
Choosing the Right Technology
The district has installed approximately 800 BrightLink projectors in instructional spaces and is expected to install 200 more. “The image size we get with the BrightLink is amazing,” said Jenks. “It is such an easy process to install and mount the projector. In return, our classrooms have these big, bright images.” Teachers throughout the district have shared how much they like the brightness of the display and its ability to increase student engagement through interactivity. “It’s been great getting feedback from teachers and hearing about the impact the projectors are having in their classrooms,” said Jenks.
Investing in Staff
In addition to standardizing on the BrightLink displays as part of every classroom’s technology offering, the district strengthened Wi-Fi connectivity throughout every building and started a 1:1 student device initiative. The BrightLink’s ability to share content from four devices simultaneously has led to more collaboration by students. As with anything new, if the staff isn’t trained, implementation can suffer. To help support its teachers and help them use the technologies provided in the classroom with confidence, the district offers professional development courses. As part of this training, they’ve also hired instructional technology coaches who observe teachers in their classrooms and then discuss ways to better integrate the technology in their curriculum.
Moving to Laser-Focused Learning
As technology continues to evolve, TCS has been able to rely on Epson to consistently create products that exceed expectations and meet the needs of the district’s digital transformation.
TCS is continuing to work towards standardizing on the BrightLink Interactive display throughout the district, and as they order additional BrightLinks they are now switching to laser models. “I’m really excited about the laser projectors because they provide incredibly vibrant images even in ambient light,” said Jenks.
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.
