Greater Manchester Community Brought Closer Together with Innovative Videoconferencing Technologies to Transcend Diversity through Education
Lifesize®, the high definition video communications company, and Codian®, the leading manufacturer of high definition videoconferencing infrastructure, today announced that Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester, England is implementing high definition video communications products from the two companies to drive schools improvement. Oldham is using innovative technologies from Lifesize and Codian across its entire diverse educational community of over 120 locations to bridge students and teachers through progressive programmes and services. The integrated solution will enable the community’s children and young people to realise their potential in new and exciting state-of-the-art learning environments.
Like many communities, Oldham continuously strives to create inspiring and engaging learning environments for its children and young people that positively impact their education and improve standards. Oldham Council is committed to using this trailblazing technology through its primary, secondary and special schools, building a “bridge for learning” where students of all ages and backgrounds can explore educational avenues through interactions with classmates, knowledge experts and council leaders.
“We are very excited to provide such innovative videoconferencing technology to Oldham’s schools. Enabling the Borough’s children and young people to realise their potential, raising educational standards and promoting community cohesion are at the heart of much of the Council’s work,” said Ruth M. Baldwin, Oldham Council’s Executive Director for Children, Young People and Families. “Introducing this new facility will revolutionise learning and teaching and play a key role in helping us to achieve these aims. Oldham will be a model of excellence for other local authorities, schools and learning establishments across the UK and ultimately around the globe.”
The Council’s Head of ICT Strategy for Children, Young People and Families, and project lead, Steve Goodman, added, “ICT is transforming learning and teaching throughout the UK. We selected this videoconferencing solution based on providing the very best user experience, with high definition being a key factor. We also wanted a solid investment for the future, as well as the ability to deploy across our existing network infrastructure. Lifesize and Codian products represent the most innovative, best price-to-performance solutions on the market.”
After conducting a comparison of videoconferencing products, Oldham purchased Lifesize® Team™ systems and Codian MCU 4500 Series conferencing bridges from UK videoconferencing reseller Videonations through Catalist – PC World Business. Lifesize Team systems and Codian MCUs work in concert to connect conferencing participants in multiple locations for joint instruction, virtual fieldtrips, student correspondence, teacher trainings and meetings, and counselling sessions.
“Education and diversity challenges are issues that affect everyone around the world. To see high definition video communications making a difference in shaping the future of human interaction at this level is truly remarkable,” said Craig Malloy, CEO of Lifesize. “We appreciate the opportunity to support Oldham with such a progressive initiative through our and Codian’s products and hope other learning institutions might ultimately realise similar benefits in their own communities.”
Beyond implementing the high definition video communications systems, Oldham is dedicated to making videoconferencing an integral part of day-to-day communications by appointing champions within each school to serve as evangelists. These individuals will ensure that everyone at Oldham has the opportunity to benefit from using high definition video communications, resulting in a strong video culture well into the future.
David Holloway, CEO of Codian commented, “We applaud the Council’s vision of a ‘bridge for learning’ to create a single virtual classroom. Oldham is showing how best of breed high definition video communications from our company and Lifesize can revolutionise teaching and learning. Their innovation provides a model for other communities that want to enhance education and collaboration while making best use of their resources.”
Lifesize Team is a high definition video communications product that allows geographically distributed participants to experience more effective, true-to-life interactions through superior video and audio quality. The award-winning Codian MCU 4500 Series is the only family of conferencing bridges with the power to deliver a true high definition multimedia experience.
About Oldham Council
Oldham Council is a modernising and forward-thinking metropolitan local authority located seven miles north-east of Manchester. The Council provides a wide range of services to the Borough’s 219,000 residents including education, social services care, highways and transportation management and arts and culture provision. The Council’s main aim is “regenerating the Borough in a way that achieves community cohesion,” and at the heart of the Council’s approach are six key corporate themes that drive its work − community cohesion, realising the potential of children, young people and families, an improving Council striving for excellence, a prosperous Borough, an improved environment and healthy and well cared for people.
For additional information about Oldham Council, visit the Local Authority’s website at www.oldham.gov.uk or call 0161 770 3514.
About Videonations
Videonations offers complete video conferencing and integrated audio-visual solutions, being an independent and impartial equipment supplier, able to fulfil complex audio-visual and video conferencing projects; with a range of product, training and support programmes. Videonations is a young and enthusiastic company, comprising qualified audio-visual, IT and Telecom personnel, experienced in exceeding our customer’s expectations. With regular installations through out Europe and the UK, Videonations offers rapid on-site support and maintenance programmes.
About Codian
Codian® designs and manufactures the most advanced video conferencing infrastructure products available. Codian’s product line includes Multipoint Control Units, Video Conference Recorders, Streaming Servers and Video Gateways. Using a unique architecture and the latest hardware technology, Codian’s products are both easy to use and powerful. Codian supports enterprise and service provider customers worldwide from main offices in San Jose, London, Sydney and Hong Kong.
