METIS Videregående, Bergen, Norway

METIS Videregående is one of the best and most innovative upper secondary schools in Norway. Located in the centre of Bergen, it is an outstanding educational institution where you will find competent and committed teachers, and motivated students. With around 600 enrolled students, the school is proud of its success in achieving a 99% course completion rate, compared to a regional average of 70,5 %. 

With wireless screen mirroring a key requirement in classrooms, and teachers and students all using Mac devices, the school was originally equipped with basic devices which facilitated BYOD wireless screen sharing via AirPlay, but without the possibility for remote management and administration. 

This inability to remote manage and update devices centrally, led IT Manager Simen Vikdal to seek a more robust, professional wireless screen mirroring solution for the school. Once they had tested a Cynap Pure device from WolfVision with its support for the AirPlay mirroring protocol, they knew that they had found the ideal replacement system. 

With the Bonjour device discovery service disabled in order to avoid excessive bandwidth usage; students are now able to use Cynap Pure’s built-in Bluetooth device discovery feature to identify nearby Cynap Pure devices in order to enable AirPlay wireless connection. No apps, dongles or additional software are needed, and connection is quick, easy, and reliable. There is now also the possibility to display content onscreen from up to four separate devices at the same time, providing extra opportunities for collaboration and sharing of ideas.  

The key factor for Simen Vikdal in deciding to switch to WolfVision systems was the availability of central remote device management software. As an IT Manager, working onsite alone, it was previously very time-consuming to update, and administer multiple units individually. WolfVision’s free-of-charge vSolution Link Pro software provided the answer, and more than 50 Cynap Pure devices are now  remote-managed and updated centrally, saving a significant amount of time.

The school also plans to install extra Cynap Pure units in other open non-classroom areas at the school. These social areas will use the Cynap Pure digital signage functionality to display an HTML webpage, showing news, announcements and other useful information. Wireless screen sharing will also be available in these areas, allowing them to be used as extra collaboration spaces.

 The Cynap Pure Viewer Mode was also interesting for the school because it enables a stream from a Cynap Pure to be received by individual students onto their own personal devices. This means that in classrooms where not every student can see the main display screen easily, they can still view onscreen classroom materials by streaming them wirelessly to their own laptops. This also provides increased accessibility for students who may have special needs. The Viewer Mode also enables students to record, and even annotate over this personal copy of the displayed classroom materials. 

WolfVision is extremely proud that its Cynap Pure systems play an important supporting role in the education of students at METIS Videregående, and looks forward to providing support and advice to the school for many years to come.