The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2024 issue - Magazine - Page 8
Blackburn Rovers Sports College: from presentation
to education with the ActivPanel
facilitated nothing more than say and display. We
thought using PowerPoint meant that we only needed
a display screen, but we were wrong.”
Since bringing the ActivPanel into lessons, lecturers
have found students are more motivated and
far more engaged with curriculum content. “The
ActivPanel has hugely boosted student involvement,
which is especially important for sports education,”
continued Erasmus. “Students learn best from a
hands-on approach, and the ActivPanel enables us
to better engage them by creating an active learning
experience.”
Blackburn Rovers Sports College specialises in
business and sports courses for people aged
16-24 who are not in employment, education, or
training. The charity-run college o昀昀ers higher
education courses, including Levels 1, 2, and
3 Business and Technology Education Council
courses and university level education in
partnership with the University of South Wales.
To support their approach to learning, the college
has been on a journey to enhance teaching with
technology. As one of the early adopters of interactive
whiteboards, the college had previously bene昀椀ted from
interactivity in lessons. However, when the time came
for the boards to be replaced, the college decided
to install large format TV screens. This decision was
grounded in the belief that these screens would be
su昀케cient to deliver lessons created in PowerPoint.
Once lecturers started using the TV screens, it
quickly became apparent that the lack of interactivity
was having a negative impact on students’ learning
experiences. Reduced attention, low motivation,
and poor engagement led the college to revisit its
technology selection. Recognising that a return to
interactivity was needed, the college upgraded to
Promethean’s market-leading ActivPanel.
Much more than a display screen
“Presentation is not education,” explained Ockert
Erasmus, head of higher and further education at
Blackburn Rovers Sports College. “The TV screens
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After completing initial orientation sessions, lecturers
were con昀椀dent to explore using the ActivPanel in a
range of teaching scenarios. “We got to grips with the
basics in no time and were impressed by how easy
the ActivPanel was to use,” Erasmus added. “It makes
lesson delivery e昀昀ortless.”
Putting a new perspective on PowerPoint
With a suite of in-built apps, the ActivPanel makes it
easy to enhance existing PowerPoint resources. For
example, lecturers can annotate over presentations
and resources to emphasise and illustrate key points.
“Using a football pitch diagram found online, I’ve
drawn di昀昀erent methods of play directly onto the
image and invited students up to the panel to share
how they might have approached it instead,” explained
Erasmus. “It’s great for getting the students involved,
developing their understanding, and stimulating group
discussion.”
As the teaching team develops in con昀椀dence and skills,
they’re excited to progress their use of more advanced
functionality. Looking forward, Erasmus is planning
to bring in the use of video. “We know it’s possible
to play recordings of real games, take screenshots,
drop these in the Whiteboard app, and then annotate
the content,” said Erasmus. “This will enable us to
deconstruct actual games as opposed to just using
theoretical plays.”
To learn more:
Read the latest education technology insights, trends, and news at
PrometheanWorld.com/gb/resource-centre
Book an online or in-person Promethean ActivPanel demo at
PrometheanWorld.com/gb/buy-promethean/request-a-demo
