Wickham is a small town in the mining heartland of Australia’s north west - it sits 1500km north of Perth and 800km south of Broome, looking out over the Indian Ocean. With a population of around 3000, the town has one primary school, which teaches 360 children from kindergarten to year 6. 

“We have a mix of pupils”, says Mark Donaldson, principal at Wickham Primary, “around 30% of our students are indigenous and most of the rest are from families who work for Rio Tinto, the major employer in the town.”

Mark is proud of the school’s achievements in providing education for students of all backgrounds. This achievement has been aided by the school’s commitment to technology, including being one of the first schools in the State to install interactive touch panels in every single classroom in the school.

The school has always embraced technology and were already using interactive whiteboards. But as these reached end of life, Mark wanted to research the latest developments in educational technology, to find the best possible ways of engaging children in the learning process. “We felt that rather than just replace what we already had, we wanted to find something more innovative, with access to a wider range of apps to appeal to the students”, he says.

The school’s Manager of Corporate Services travelled to Perth to attend a schools’ technology workshop run by the Department of Education. At the event, she saw the Clevertouch panels, demonstrated by ASI, and realised they were a perfect fit for Wickham Primary’s needs.  

The school ran a tender process, which was won by ASI, whose response on technology, service, price, maintenance and installation schedule gave the school confidence that they had found the best partner. 

“We did the right thing when we selected Clevertouch and ASI”, says Mark. “ASI went above and beyond in meeting our deadlines. They didn’t get much notice that they had won, but they got everything installed in a week. Their installation team was outstanding - the best I’ve ever seen. They were flexible, willing to listen and they cleaned up as they worked.”

ASI’s support goes beyond the purely technical; as experts in technology for schools, and with staff who are former teachers themselves, ASI also provides training for teachers. They showed them how to get the most from the Clevertouch panels, and provide free access to apps, to help create excitement and engagement in pupils. 

The Clevertouch panels have brought a new vitality to the classrooms at the school. “The teachers are really excited by the technology”, explains Mark, “and that is picked up by the students.”

“Students can show their work on screen for discussions, teachers can use resources from the internet as well as our range of apps. The technology allows teachers to engage with every student at their own ability.” 

 “I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from teachers and pupils”, says Mark. “Engaged teachers make for engaged students and that means high expectations for learning.”