Hybrid learning & new trends in EdTech – Interview with ViewSonic’s Max Hsu

As part of our continuous coverage of the ongoing wave of digital transformation, we wanted to know what ViewSonic is doing to bridge the gap between traditional and digital learning environments. We asked Max Hsu, ViewSonic’s Regional Director, four questions. More on hybrid learning, new EdTech trends, cybersecurity for minors, and ViewSonic’s new activities in the projector and monitor sector can be found below.

TECHx: Hybrid learning is the buzzword in the education industry for 2021 and beyond, and the pandemic has only accelerated the trend. What role does ViewSonic play in bridging the gap between traditional and digital learning environments?

Max: ViewSonic invests continual efforts to support schools, educators, students, and parents in the MEA region. When the COVID-19 crisis first began, we offered our valuable myViewBoard to them, completely free of charge. Developing the situation-appropriate updates on the distance learning tools and creating better hybrid learning tools had to be done on an extremely short notice and we have solutions that prioritize engagements, interactive features, and a friendly user interface. We consider the smallest needs of classrooms to elevate the learning experience with features like one-way camera, huddle, raise your hand “to participate”, push to talk, whiteboard along with all the existing features and tools that are a part of the myViewBoard eco-system like clips and myViewBoard manager. Our education solutions incorporate a web-based distance learning virtual classroom for distance and hybrid learning.

TECHx: A slew of new trends is surfacing in the EdTech world. What’s next on your to-do list, any new products or expansion plans?

Max: ViewSonic is always trying to be at the forefront of developing convenient and productive solutions. We are soon launching the PT1050, which is a 10.1-inch Windows pen tablet featuring pen and capacitive touch input. The ViewSonic PT1050 pen tablet is specially designed to enhance visual communication. Equipped with industry-leading pressure sensitivity, sensor resolution and sampling rate, it provides users with an incredibly responsive on-screen writing experience. Its hardened glass with anti-glare treated cover glass provides great durability and enhanced viewing while minimizing fingerprints. With 2048 levels of pen pressure, users can enjoy accurate drawing, writing and annotating experiences on this device.

TECHx: How do you make sure that learners have a safe experience on your platforms, especially when cyberattacks on minors are on the rise as well?

Max: ViewSonic’s myViewBoard is an enterprise-grade secure platform that supports HTTPS 256 AES encrypted connections, with no open text connections to myviewboard.com. Unlike other applications which require users to input their Username/Password and save it locally, myViewBoard.com adopts Token based access for the registration of Third-Party Cloud Storage Applications such as Google Drive and OneDrive. During installation, the myViewBoard app will verify a validated email address for ID registration before activation. After installation, the myViewBoard app generates a unique ID for the device with instant ID technology to make sure all records can be identified. Every .vboard file is encrypted with the AES256 encryption scheme and can be locked with a password to a specific user. The myViewBoard app deletes all temporary files when exiting the app, signing-out, switching users, or reaching the idle timeout.

TECHx: Please tell us about your initiatives in the area of projectors and monitors to promote e-learning.

Max: We have a wide array of educational monitor solutions to cater to various needs in the classroom and to facilitate learning outside of classrooms as well. Our range of monitors models can meet a wide demand of educators and students’ needs such as TD1655, TD2455 Touch Monitor, VP2768a &VP2785-2K for professional creative users and XG270QC, XG2431 for Esports. On other hand, we provide education projector solutions, as we offer a range of LED, Laser & Lamp models in addition to LED portable projectors which provide many benefits and features for teachers and students such as bigger screen, eye-friendly, superior clarity, connectivity and ease of use that helps educator to spend more time teaching and less time setting up.