At Tokyo Community School, the staff knew it wanted to incorporate technology in the classroom. It not only enhanced the learning experience for the students, but it made teaching easier. Unfortunately, for the staff there, the interactive whiteboards they had worked with in demos were unsatisfactory, and left a lot to be desired. Moreover, most were incompatible with Apple’s line of products, which posed a problem as both staff and students used Apple exclusively.

Tokyo Community School has been in operation since 2004. Unlike many of the schools throughout Japan, Tokyo Community School puts emphasis on teaching its students “research-based learning.” While other schools drill students for hours with information that they are expected to memorize, Tokyo Community School aims to get its students to think for themselves.

For these educational values to be fully achieved, the school needed technology that could empower the kids. Although Tokyo Community School had considered interactive whiteboards, they were never satisfied with the ones they had demoed on. The staff found them impractical and difficult to use. For instance, Tokyo Community School’s principal, Chikara Ichikawa, didn’t like the smart pens that the other boards used. He complained about their weight and short battery life. He also said that most couldn’t keep up with his hand speed, so his sentences either were delayed or, in some instances, disappeared entirely. For Mr. Ichikawa, he wanted a classroom solution that would not impede his work, but instead improve upon it.

A highlight of the MW853UST projector is its ultra-short throw 0.35 lens. A mere 0.28 meters is required to project an 80” image on the wall. With this cutting-edge technology, the MW853UST is ideal for even the smallest of rooms. As soon as BenQ demonstrated the MW853UST for Tokyo Public School, the staff, and especially Chikara Ichikawa, the principal, knew they had finally found the solution they were looking for. Since Mr. Ichikawa is a fast writer, he wanted a pen to keep up with him. He found that pen with the PointWrite™ module and PW01U. The pen is lightweight, capable of displaying Mr. Ichikawa’s notes in real-time, and has an extremely long battery life. A pen, on a single charge, can be used in multiple classes every day for a whole week.

The Tokyo Public School believes its students are important, and there is no better way to demonstrate their individual significance than displaying their words for the class to see. With the MW853UST, an instructor can quickly write what the student is saying and display it on the wall. Then, that data can be stored for future use so that the students can review it at any time. This elegant software solution cuts down note-taking time, which not only reduces overall downtime in the classroom but also enhances the learning experience.

Tokyo Public School knew from the moment BenQ finished its demo that the MW853UST and PointWrite™ module would be the perfect classroom solution. The interactive projector would be more cost effective than an interactive whiteboard, which, according to the school was fairly expensive option it had considered earlier. Additionally, with 3200 ANSI lumens, the projector would be bright enough for the classroom, which have a lot of windows and natural light. The concern that the images would look faded quickly evaporated when the school’s staff saw the projector in action.

To boot, the ultra-short throw lens, makes it possible to throw large images in an area with limited space. For Mr. Ichikawa, the pen was also an important driving factor in his decision. Its light weight, easy calibration, long battery life, and rapid response time, helped it outshine all competitors. He went so far as to consider it one of his new favorite accessories. At Tokyo Public School, much of the staff and many of the students use Apple products such as iPads, MacBooks, and even Apple TV. It became apparent that compatibility with these devices was essential, and BenQ were glad to report that the MW853UST could fully support Apple—a feature none of the competitors could claim. Tokyo Public School holds open lessons, and has encouraged anyone looking for IT solutions to join the class and see BenQ’s products first hand.