The Corpus Christi Independent School District (ISD) has deployed 32 TEKVOX 4K/4xHD Collaboration Stations in a TTIPS grant-funded pilot program at South Park Middle School. Phoenix-based, Troxell Communications installed the student collaboration table solutions.
“The Corpus Christi ISD is very innovative and future-driven. It’s replacing traditional lecture based models with projection screens with a flipped classroom model with collaboration pods. The cost-effective TEKVOX Collaboration Station is an important first step toward that new method of learning,” said Trenton Brackley, account executive Troxell Communications.
Texas Title 1 Priority Schools (TTIPS) grants were established to assist the lowest-achieving schools across the state. They are supported by funds available under Section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The intent of the TTIPS grant program is to achieve lasting positive reforms in the state’s most struggling campuses through highest-quality implementation of strong evidence-based interventions. Within the grant framework the Texas Education Agency is committed to assisting local education agencies in turning around low-performing campuses and improving the academic performance of all campuses eligible for Title 1 funding.
Texas-based engage2learn worked with the Corpus Christi ISD to apply for and implement the TTIPS grant for South Park Middle School. A consulting and training company, engage2learn has worked over the past five years with educators and communities in and out of Texas to help them design, implement and sustain their local visions for learning.
“The grant helps South Park Middle School explore ways to improve its test scores,” said Brackley. “Although every student has a Chromebook, there haven’t been many opportunities to learn from each other. So engage2learn built a curriculum and teacher training program around the implementation of a flipped classroom collaborative environment. Now up to six students can hook up to a TEKVOX Collaboration Station and display multiple HD content streams from their Chromebooks.”
Students watch their content on the 4K LED monitor mounted at the end of the table. “The TEKVOX TekTouchPad controls everything; it’s super-easy to use and has color-coded cables that connect to the kids’ Chromebooks,” said Brackley. “A student just presses a button to connect to the table.”
The grant initially called for using collaboration furniture from another vendor. “The solution from a nationally-known brand was very expensive, and the school thought it would be able to install only a portion of the collaboration tables it wanted,” said Reed Hinkel, vice president of marketing and business development at TEKVOX. “But we were able to partner with Spectrum Furniture to design a table and technical package at a fraction of the cost so South Park Middle School could outfit all of its classrooms. Our cost-effective solution enabled the school to get exactly what it wanted instead of compromising. It’s a solution that can be applied across all schools.”
“The Collaboration Station is awesomely simple and straightforward. That’s probably its biggest selling point,” said Brackley. “All of the parts are pre-programmed. There’s nothing left to do once it’s in place.”
The TEKVOX collaboration solutions will be on display February 3-5 in the Troxell Communications booth (#2339) at the TCEA 2016 Connected Exhibits at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.
