Posted in: Education 3.0

The Centro de Estudios Superiores San Agustín de Bilbao has carried out a profound digital transformation in recent months to guarantee the total safety of teachers and students, as well as the continuity of their classes.

For this 2020/2021 academic year, it has opted for a hybrid or blended teaching model where technology guarantees constant interaction between teachers and students. The aim is for students to obtain good academic results and have the best advice in their studies: “We believe that the student's experience will be much more satisfactory, generating greater involvement and use, not only of the online format, but also in the own classroom by changing the blackboard for a state-of-the-art interactive digital screen ”, says José Luis Soler, director of the San Agustín Center for Higher Studies.

Technology classrooms
To achieve these objectives, the institution has developed a project in charge of the provider Charmex and the audiovisual integrator Dinof , with six integrated solutions for blended classes that include the following components: sound bars and 4K videoconference cameras from Poly and interactive monitors 65 ”, 75 ”and 85” Clevertouch Impact.

Poly Studio camera USB auto-track 4K video conferencing cameras and sound bars feature advanced sound pickup thanks to the presence of multiple in-line 'array' microphones and 'NoiseBlock' noise cancellation. In addition, the cameras with Auto-Track frame the teacher with a close-up following the coordinates of the microphone capture, that is, of his voice.

For their part, Clevertouch Impact interactive monitors offer an intuitive and collaborative experience, with features that free teachers from the limitations of restrictive traditional technology with tools such as whiteboard handwriting and formula recognition, and applications to combine work in person and online.

Specifically, these screens have an infinite whiteboard with the ability to resize in annotations and images so that the teacher never runs out of space and gives free rein to their ideas. They also facilitate agile and precise writing in two simultaneous colors, have passive pens, which do not require a battery, and have differentiated stylus and gesture input.

On the other hand, tools such as a stopwatch, a timer, a magnifying glass and an integrated interactive voting function allow greater involvement of students during class. Work online is streamlined with integration to cloud accounts (in the cloud) direct from file explorer.

“We have adapted our teaching methodologies with these new technologies. We continue to evolve with it and it is being very useful to us, especially with regard to the recognition of formulas ”, highlights Soler.

Engineering students and opponents, the main beneficiaries
In these moments, up to 17 teachers can teach their classes in a blended way: with the classroom capacity reduced to less than half, non-contact students can follow the explanation from home without comprehension or visualization problems.

The subjects are taught to students who come from engineering faculties or university schools such as the Bilbao Engineering School in Electronics, Electrical, Mechanics, Management Information Technology, Civil; the School of Nautical (Portugalete) and Business Management of the School of Elcano.

Other classes that can access this blended educational model are those of preparation for different oppositions, which for more than 30 years have been taught in person. Usually, the San Agustín Center prepares students for the teaching exams (Primary, Infant, Therapeutic Pedagogy, English and Physical Education), Secondary, Osakidetza (Basque Health Service), Bilbao City Council and the Basque Government.