Set your technological imperatives straight to ensure educational success during the pandemic.
The pandemic has pushed the education sector to transform their operations and why they must use the right vendor for their technological considerations as they traverse through this new terrain.
The reality of the new normal
When the Pandemic took the world by storm, schools did not have time to reinvent their operational model and remote learning was done with inadequate use of technology. Teachers and students mostly used iPads and laptops with built-in webcams. As a result, the audio/video quality was far from good.
On top of the above, three more challenges lie beneath the surface that most enterprises fail to consider before cutting the check:
- Transforming operations cost-effectively
- Minimizing downtime resolving technical issues quickly
- Being prepared for a scenario where the pandemic stays here for a longer time than expected—or comes back after a few weeks/months of normalcy
How can Business Telecom Products (BTP) – a Carnation, WA based small business help?
BTP has taken an initiative to help the sector root out the above-mentioned issues one-by-one.
We are here to help K-12 institutions design bundled solutions for the class-room, for the at-home teacher, and for the at-home-student.
Did you know you are eligible to get funds to be used on technology for remote learning solutions?
When it comes to facilitating funding, the government seems to be doing its part. The CARES Act birthed the $30.75 billion Education Stabilization Fund, which provides $13.5 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER).
This is how the ESSER funding works. The money is allocated to states. After that, it is sub-awarded to the Local Education Agencies (LEAS). The use of funds has been kept as flexible as possible to help educational institutions fulfill their needs.
The only issue most organizations seem to have here is how to go about acquiring these funds.
Well, look no further. In addition to providing quality products, BTP will also facilitate a meeting with PGAP (Poly Grant Assistance Program). BTP will setup a remote demo from Poly for schools to learn about what technology options are available to them and guide them along the way to put together audio/video standards that fits their scenarios. Please note that these services are free of cost and require no obligation to purchase.
This is how education delivery is evolving
Because of the pandemic, institutions have been forced to reinvent their business model from on-premises to online.
Now, there are two crucial elements of online education delivery. The first one is asynchronous learning, which is delivering educational material to students via recorded webinars, lessons, and so on. The second one is synchronous learning, which is education delivery via live sessions (one-on-one or group).
Fortunately, Poly has the best solutions out there to offer K-12 institutions quality gear to support both of these models at a cost-effective price point.
Poly (Plantronics) Audio and Video Solutions
Rather than choosing between in-person or remote instruction, innovative educational organizations at every grade level are planning for a hybrid learning model that allows for maximum learning flexibility.
Poly offers affordable, scalable video solutions for this new model that will allow your organization to build technology-enhanced classrooms that can serve both in-person attendees and remote attendees. Poly’s broad interoperability makes it a future-proof investment while the intuitive user experiences mean fewer help desk tickets and happier educators.
Camera Solutions for Education
Poly EagleEye Mini
Remote learning is an experience drastically different than classroom learning, for both educators and students. Many people have been getting by with using the integrated cameras and speakers found on their computers and laptops, when we thought home schooling was a short-term plan. The truth is, poor audio and video quality is distracting and fatiguing and will negatively impact a student’s ability to learn. Likewise, educators need to be seen and heard as naturally as possible in order to engage their students and promote learning.
There is a better, affordable choice for educators and students alike. The Poly EagleEye Mini USB brings forth the color and clarity necessary to detect those all-important non-verbal cues and expressions ensuring you are reaching your student and they can better connect with you.
For audio, a comfortable, noise-cancelling Poly headset is ideal when you are teaching or learning from home, while sharing your space with others doing the same. A full-line of headsets are available- wired, wireless, mono or stereo that designed to provide the greatest flexibility and comfort.
Headset Noise cancelling: https://youtu.be/DXLn91OPECA
Another audio option is the Calisto USB or Bluetooth
speakerphone which lets you sound your best wherever you’re teaching or learning. Beyond calls, everything you listen to sounds amazing too—think video, podcasts and music.
The EagleEye Mini camera, Poly headsets or Calisto speakerphones set up in minutes and can be used with all leading cloud video solutions.
Poly Studio USB
Studio USB teacher tracking: https://youtu.be/Xc6aXU6ezsc
Noise block: https://youtu.be/HUgPzCtrVPE
Educators are adapting to teaching students from their homes and many feel locked into having to sit behind their desk and not move. Teachers are looking to have more freedom when teaching from their homes, being able to get up and point to something on a board or a makeshift chalkboard. However, when the teacher does get up, they go out of frame of the camera and their audio quickly degrades.
Poly offers a cost-effective solution that provides the independence a teacher needs to move around their home office classroom while still having great audio and video quality. The Poly Studio USB is a USB video bar that delivers powerful audio and incredibly sharp video with the ease-of-use of a single cable to the PC. This single cable connection allows the educator to use any video platform of their choosing from Zoom to Google to SKYPE to TEAMs.
One of the teacher-friendly features of the Poly Studio USB is presenter mode camera tracking. When this mode is activated, the camera automatically and naturally follows the teacher around their home office, from a sitting position to walking about or anywhere in between.
The new school normal may be a combination of students attending from home and some will be in the classroom. The Poly Studio USB is mobile and easy to move from a home office to the classroom allowing the instructor to have a natural in-classroom presentation style not matter if they are in the school or teaching from home.
Poly EagleEye Cube USB
Don’t let the size of the camera fool you, this camera packs a punch with incredible audio and video quality and convenience. Dual, built-in microphones will ensure your voice is heard clearly by the far-end participants. The cube also includes participant framing and speaker tracking, so no matter if you are sitting, standing or moving about, the Cube will find you and let the others in the call see you.
The EagleEye Cube is compatible with PC and MAC.
Poly EagleEye Director II
Eagle Eye director for larger halls & Auditoriums. https://youtu.be/upBp7bImYiM
Many classes and lectures will be a hybrid of in-person and on-line. When presenting from the classroom, give remote students the best overall experience that will rival being there in-person. The EagleEye Director uses multiple cameras to properly frame speakers and groups inside the classroom, so the educator does
not need to use a remote control to zoom in and position themselves on camera or even change cameras to frame students when they are asking questions.
Many school districts and universities use EagleEye Directors today and students on the remote ends love the experience. The Director will increase remote student attention and provide that person-to- person connection that is needed.
Studio X Family
Rather than using a PC or MAC to drive the video interactions, a dedicated video system may be a better solution. The Studio X family is an all-in-one video.
appliance that can connect to any video platform and has direct integration with leading service providers like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and more. Incredible audio, video and content sharing await the instructor starting with an intuitive touch screen interface. Perfect for the mid-sized classroom all the way down to someone teaching from home. Video production rules are built-in allowing for hands-free operation while providing the students at home that in-classroom feel.
How do you ensure technical issues and downtime don’t hamper the quality learning experience?
It’s simple—we pride ourselves on our service.
Here are some of the basic rules we follow to deliver innovative customer experiences:
- We can customize settings on wireless headsets based on your preference because we ship the products from our own warehouse based in Carnation, WA
- We process warranty on your behalf – giving the products longer lifetime
- We answer all your calls LIVE. No waiting time, no automated menus
- We offer lifetime troubleshooting and support
Call to action
Acquiring funding for remote learning technology and designing solutions to fulfil your requirements can be challenging. We are here to help every step of the way.
Give us a call on (800)457-4287 or email us at info@btpi.com.
We are a Minority/Women owned Small Business – certified by the State of Washington. Many WA State agencies have been BTP’s customers for 20+ years.
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