Jamestown, New York, is investing in its youth and planning for the future by modernizing the Jamestown Public School District with new LG CreateBoard smart boards that provide better learning opportunities, greater engagement, and direct relevance to daily life and the community. of students' abilities. District officials and technology providers have equipped all classrooms in the district's ten K-12 schools with 86-inch LG CreateBoards, offering teachers and students greater access to popular digital learning tools while simplifying technology management through LG's centralized platforms.
When recent school funding initiatives made it possible for the municipality to invest in educational improvements, Chuck Marzec, the district's chief technology officer, turned to Larry Meister, president of the IT solutions provider. Mercury networks. Meister, who has worked with the district for more than a decade, collaborated with Marzec to determine which products and solutions would maximize learning benefits for the most students. Considering the timing, price, and available funding, they concluded that LG CreateBoards could transform every student's experiences and deliver forward-thinking classrooms that prepare students for a technology-filled world and job market. .
The district last updated its projection-based classroom systems in 2012, before the explosion of new touch-sensitive smart boards that are sweeping the educational landscape. Attractive pricing helped convince the district that smartboards would be the most impactful, sustainable and widely deployable solution, offering greater capabilities than existing systems while standardizing each classroom to simplify daily administration and long-term maintenance. term.
“LG's easy-to-use CreateBoard interactive whiteboards are an incredible value, making them the best choice for Jamestown Public Schools. The district initially considered equipping about half of its classrooms with a LG product. competition at twice the price. With CreateBoard, they are essentially doubling their investment, creating optimized experiences for staff and students in every classroom and school,” Meister explained. “The district's previous projection systems were single-room solutions that lacked meaningful communication options and new advances in interactivity or cloud-based learning tools. Now, with LG CreateBoards, they have a unified network of more than 500 displays which can be monitored, managed and used to distribute content from a single location for morning announcements or emergencies. Additionally, the ability to set automatic on and off times ensures no energy is wasted, eliminating a task for operators. busy teachers today.
The district is excited about what technology can bring in terms of classroom engagement and lesson plans for teachers, including simple access to popular web-based tools like Google Classroom. The 40-point multi-touch digital displays allow for a variety of lesson plans and interactive activities that can invite multiple students to use the whiteboard at once, plus convenient streaming and mobile connections for both educators and students. For example, teachers can quickly log in to their Google accounts and other services by scanning an on-screen QR code with their smartphone and then leave the room knowing that the screen automatically logs out all accounts when the connection goes down. wireless.
“It is difficult to overstate the value of standardized solutions for our students, teachers and district as a whole,” Marzec said. “Running a school or district involves a lot of moving parts, and when we have teachers who may use multiple classrooms or even multiple buildings over the course of a day or week, giving them the same tools everywhere ensures they don't waste time troubleshooting technical issues.” or troubleshoot compatibility issues with your prepared lessons. The same goes for today's students who have never known a world without touch screens. With an optimized experience year after year, they can become fairly advanced users of LG CreateBoard technology throughout their education, helping to develop explicit technical skills alongside the school curriculum.”
With LG CreateBoards, teachers can easily supplement lessons with presentations or videos, share screen lessons or content from their own devices, and allow students to share screen projects from their devices. With new centralized control capabilities, Jamestown Public Schools can also easily deliver morning video announcements to each classroom without requiring any action from teachers. Lessons can be saved and stored online for later viewing and study, including live annotations over text or video that allow teachers to provide context, information or discussion to go deeper than standard textbook or content descriptions. previously prepared.
According to Jason Hubbard, senior account manager for education at LG Business Solutions, implementing CreateBoards can also fundamentally change the way teachers approach the classroom by giving them the freedom to get up from their desk when using digital resources.
“The two-way connection between laptops and LG CreateBoard means they can control and manipulate their computer or content from CreateBoard, unlike a projection system or other non-smart solution where they have to be at the desktop to exert control.” Hubbard said. “This offers educators greater freedom of movement and accommodates a variety of teaching styles, which can support engagement and attention, directly impacting student and school outcomes.”
In consulting with Mercury Networks, the district considered different manufacturers and options and opted for the LG CreateBoard solution based on capabilities, manufacturer support and cost. The upgrade project began with 10 initial installations at the high school, then an expansion to five schools, and then the final decision to equip all classrooms at once before the 2024-2025 school year. Each room's audio solution is also being upgraded to provide better sound quality and ensure long-term consistency for all users.
“We are excited to see our teachers and students leverage these technologies for greater collaboration and enhanced discussions in a way that encourages engagement and connects with students' daily experiences and digital lifestyles,” Marzec added. “In addition, purchasing the LG ecosystem has offered us new opportunities to consider implementing connected digital signage displays in hallways, cafeterias, entrances and other public spaces to deliver school messages or community content, such as videos of student achievements or event replays. including sports, entertainment, guest speeches and extracurricular activities.”
Marzec also noted how LG's attention to detail and willingness to provide support exceeded his expectations. In the past, technology providers had been much more independent, while LG acted more like a partner in terms of working to answer questions, resolve problems, and ensure the district was completely satisfied with the outcome. The latest installations were completed in early July 2024, with all classrooms at each school ready to launch for the fall semester.
To learn more about LG's CreateBoard line and all the benefits and opportunities they can bring to schools, visit here.
