How can you encourage students to really participate in the courses, interact and collaborate? Last Friday, RHIZO Lyceum OLV Vlaanderen, a secondary school in Kortrijk (Belgium), proudly inaugurated Lab 21.0: a classroom of the future where advanced technology, innovative furniture and a collaborative teaching style work together to foster student-centric learning. The new-style classroom features Barco’s Collaborative Learning Platform.

Educational innovation hub
Lab 21.0 is composed of six different ‘active learning’ spaces, which all feature one or more central displays. Our Collaborative Learning Platform, which combines our Education and connectivity solutions, helps teachers and pupils easily put information from their laptops or handheld devices on those displays and then collaborate interactively. “We’re using Lab 21.0 for interactive lessons, research and experiments, but also as a meeting-place for colleagues and peers, where we can demonstrate our new approach. The first feedback is very positive,” says headmistress Franceska Verhenne. “This is really the ‘educational innovation hub’ that we had dreamt of.”

Drive collaboration and convey knowledge
“Today’s technology really has the power to disrupt the traditional model of learning. Our platform perfectly illustrates how easy it can be to drive collaboration and convey knowledge in schools. In 2015, we initiated our first successful pilot projects in educational institutions. We’re delighted to now also help secondary schools, like RHIZO Lyceum OLV Vlaanderen, install a whole new way of learning and teaching, to make it more active, engaging and fun for everyone involved,” said Wim Barbaix, Business Development Manager Education - Collaborative Learning.