When the West Allegheny school district in Pennsylvania needed a technology upgrade for their classrooms, they turned to Sharp dealer, The Wilson Group, for a wireless universal platform as a solution. Nearly 170 AQUOS BOARD interactive displays were installed to facilitate collaboration.
Business Environment Challenges
West Allegheny School District located approximately 15 miles from Pittsburgh, PA is one of the largest school districts, geographically, of the 42 school systems in Allegheny County. With approximately 3,500 students enrolled annually, the district is comprised of one high school, one middle school and three elementary schools.
The school district had a hodgepodge of outdated interactive projectorbased systems in the classrooms and wanted to enhance classroom learning, especially in the middle school and high school.
The teachers were not happy with the current classroom layout since they had to have wired connections from their computers to the screen and it was not conducive to effective teaching. They preferred to move throughout the classroom and interact with the students while giving the lesson and they just couldn’t do that tied to cords and short connections. Throughout the pandemic, they had to quickly transform the way they taught, and with students returning to the classroom, they wanted an easier way to teach.
Technology Solutions
The superintendent reached out to Sharp Dealer, The Wilson Group, whom they had an existing relationship with for their multifunction printers (MFPs). The Wilson Group came out and gave a demo of the Sharp 70" (69.5" diagonal) AQUOS BOARD interactive display. The staff were very impressed with the display, especially since they were able to use their laptops and drive the display wirelessly, so they didn’t need to be tethered to it. They also liked the flexibility to use whatever software the teachers felt comfortable with, whether it’s Google Classroom, Blackboard Learn or similar software.
The fact that the AQUOS BOARD interactive displays also came with eShare capability really helped sweeten the deal. eShare is a wireless casting collaboration app that allows users to mirror the display with their laptop, smartphone or tablet, meaning the teachers can mirror whatever is on their laptop directly to the display.
The superintendent originally was going to purchase 50 AQUOS BOARD interactive displays for the middle school and half of the high school. When the school was able to acquire ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds through the CARES (Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security) Act, they made the decision to outfit every classroom in the district with the displays. They also purchased Peerless-AV Rolling Carts for each AQUOS BOARD interactive display.
Proven Results
Since the superintendent at the West Allegheny School District had a previous relationship with The Wilson Group, they put their trust in them and Sharp to purchase 168 70" (69.5" diagonal) AQUOS BOARD interactive displays. It was a seamless transaction. The teachers are thrilled that they can connect to the displays wirelessly, allowing them to move around the room while teaching. The eShare capability helps to facilitate collaboration and allows the teachers to connect and share from any device, making the lessons more engaging.
“The ability to have a wireless universal platform is critical to provide a high-quality education during a pandemic,” says Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jerri Lippert. “The consistency of the displays is paramount as our teachers move from class to class and they are thrilled that they are able to teach their classes using technology that is easy to use and dependable.”
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.
