Case Study: Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School

Ricoh delivers affordable, high quality interactive technology to make classrooms come alive

About Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School

Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, ranks among the top two dozen schools in the state. The school campus is comprised of three buildings—one to house grades K-3, one for grades 4-6, and another for grades 7-12. They continually strive to create learning environments in their 70-plus classrooms that reflect the experience of everyday life for approximately 1,640 students they serve.

"Ricoh's short throw projectors enabled us to incorporate interactive technology into our classrooms at an affordable price. Equipping every classroom with smart boards would have cost $500,000—these projectors were a quarter of the cost."
Susan Mauser
Chief Executive Officer
Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School

Challenge

Portrait of students raising hands in classroom.

Throughout dozens of classrooms at Lehigh Valley Academy Charter School, there were only a few stationary, ceiling-mounted projectors to make information interactive for students. In recent years, the school had invested in a modest number of smart boards to give teachers and students more mobility and make lessons more engaging. Teachers loved the smart boards—but they were costly at approximately $8,000 to $9,000 each with installation and software. The charter school wanted to find a cost-effective alternative to smart boards but didn't know which technology would be the best fit.

Solution

Ricoh had been providing Lehigh Valley Academy with production printing technology for their copy center. When we learned of their dilemma allocating funds for more smart boards, we stepped in with a new feature-rich and affordable solution.

We introduced Lehigh Valley to the Ricoh ultra short throw projector that brings interactivity to school and business environments alike. We demonstrated the technology to show the charter school how the projector could enrich the classroom experience—at the right price.

Connects to a teacher's desktop or mobile device to display classroom materials
Plays multimedia such as videos and movies
Presents crisp, compelling color-rich images even in most sunlit classrooms
Projects images inches from the projected surface without compromising quality
Leverages Lehigh Valley's existing smart board software for continuity no matter how a classroom is equipped for interactivity
Stationary or can be housed on carts to move within classrooms or from classroom to classroom

Lehigh Valley tested our short throw projector for a year—along with other projectors on the market—to make sure they were making the right investment. In the end, they chose our technology and purchased additional Ricoh ultra short throw projectors for classrooms that didn't have smart boards.

Result

After a successful pilot test of Ricoh ultra short throw projectors, Lehigh Valley purchased eight additional projectors—then purchased 11 more. Today, they have a total of 29 projectors and 40 smart boards to make lessons interactive throughout their classrooms. Technology is now a vital tool to engage students and prepare them for the future. In turn, teachers appreciate having innovative equipment to perform their jobs more efficiently.

"As technology has improved and become more affordable, it plays a larger and larger role. We're almost one-to-one with technology," said Susan Mauser, Chief Executive Officer at Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School.

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