BenQ’s Technological Innovations Recognized Silver Sustainability Action Award

The 518 School Closure in Taiwan mandated a large-scale suspension of classes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the “Learning Never Stops” initiative promoted “Every Classroom Connected, Every Student with a Tablet,” the most significant digital transformation project in Taiwan’s educational history. Over time, the integration of interactive educational touch displays and tablet interactions in classrooms is expected to become the prevailing trend in the education sector.

The BenQ education team visited actual classrooms and noticed the gap between ideals and reality. BenQ’s Taiwan General Manager, Steve Yang, identified three main challenges in smart teaching, which have now become BenQ’s sustainable action objectives for empowering smart education.

Steve Yang mentioned that on the hardware side, many schools are facing challenges of insufficient equipment and a wide variety of hardware brands with uneven distribution. The most direct issues include staff members’ lack of familiarity with operating the hardware, equipment malfunctions, and the inability to handle complex configurations and maintenance. As a result, the utilization rate of digital tools and equipment remains low.

On the software side, there are challenges related to insufficient interactive teaching materials or a lack of teaching application scenarios. While teachers have large interactive touchscreens for teaching and students have tablets, both hardware components lack interactive teaching materials and teaching application solutions that can be integrated with new types of tools.

The third challenge is rapidly evolving technology and teaching tools, which place heavy demands on teachers’ energy and time. Consequently, many teachers choose to focus solely on their teaching responsibilities, rendering this extra equipment useless. To address this predicament, BenQ proactively enters campuses and provides support to the frontline educational environment.

BenQ has invested in the education market since 2009, and its “Interactive displays for education” (smart Interactive whiteboard) has been implemented in nearly 6,000 smart classrooms throughout Taiwan. In Taipei City, over 70% of classrooms utilize BenQ’s educational touch screens. To assist schools in addressing current equipment usage issues, BenQ first introduced the BenQ On-Site Services for IT Managers. This initiative focused on schools that had purchased BenQ interactive touchscreens, providing software updates and troubleshooting support to help schools understand device functions and enhance equipment utilization.

BenQ holds in-person teaching workshops – the “BenQ EdTech Symposiums” – and online lesson plan sharing and seminars to enable teachers to grasp the use and interactive teaching applications of the touchscreens. These initiatives involve discussions on educational topics, trends, and smart teaching, helping educators at the forefront of education to have a more comprehensive and innovative understanding of the trends and applications of EduTech.

Steve Yang stated that to ignite teachers’ enthusiasm for smart teaching, it is essential to start with a solid foundation of teacher training. Understanding teachers’ pain points and usage needs is crucial in guiding them to experience the convenience and teaching effectiveness brought about by technology tools. By doing so, digital learning can take root and flourish in various regions across Taiwan.

In 2022, BenQ Education collaborated with Teach for Taiwan (TFT) to improve rural education. Together, they established smart classrooms at both TFT’s Taipei office and TFT’s Pingtung Education Innovation Hub. Additionally, they organized thematic workshops and corporate internships to empower TFT members to leverage the power of EduTech and bring a fresh teaching approach to rural education in Taiwan.

Education is not about filling a bucket with water—it is about igniting a fire. With a continuous commitment to innovative and pragmatic actions, BenQ has been driving and influencing the atmosphere of smart teaching. It serves as a strong ally in Taiwan’s smart education efforts, striving to nurture future talents and shape a better education system.