North Kent College in Tonbridge has launched some exciting new immersive technology to benefit both its students and teachers. The Times finds out more about this new way of learning and sharing information…
North Kent College has unveiled a series of immersive classrooms that will connect its four campuses Tonbridge, Hadlow, Dartford and Gravesend.
This means staff and students can now share their experiences across a number of groups, including specialist teachers and businesses.
“Each campus hosts its own hi-tech classroom, which allows for a seamless learning experience with teachers and students in other immersive classrooms, and to connect with employers at remote locations,” a North Kent College spokesperson told the Times.
“The classrooms are fully interactive, with digital whiteboards that students can use to answer questions or tasks set and engage in lessons as if they were in the room with the lecturer,” the spokesperson added.
The classrooms were showcased last week by North Kent, Mid-Kent and East Kent Colleges, who received funding for them as a result of a joint funding bid.
Each classroom also allows ultra-high-definition video presentations to be shared, and features motion tracking cameras with high-quality two-way audio that allows for natural conversations between rooms, no matter where the participant is standing.
No technical knowledge is needed by staff to use the classrooms as they simply connect their laptop and are ready to broadcast their lesson.
Students also don’t need to download any software to join the lessons remotely, as it is all browser-based.
Other advantages of immersing students in this ground-breaking technology include the fact that external lecturers and guest speakers will no longer have to attend a specific campus to give a presentation or talk as they can do so remotely.
Practical demonstrations can be broadcast straight to the classrooms rather than students having to be taken out on trips to industry-specific locations.
And finally, students can connect remotely if they are unable to make it to a campus due to illness or bad weather.
Mark Andrews, Deputy Executive Principal, Strategy and Curriculum, for North Kent College said: “I was delighted that Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, as the lead employer body for our regional skills improvement plan, enabled us to host a broad range of businesses and forge valuable connections with employers who are keen to engage with educating the talent of the future.
“It is exciting to connect similar groups across campuses at the three Kent college groups, and using our brand-new immersive classrooms, show how interactive tasks and team-teaching works across them.”
Lucy Druesne, Skills Programme Manager, Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, added: “It was a privilege to showcase our region’s College group facilities to employers from the Kent & Medway Manufacturing Focus Group and build meaningful relationships to support the development of our future workforce. The immersive classrooms across the campuses of the three colleges demonstrated how interactive and collaborative learning can take place across different locations, maximizing the learning experience.”
