Yamaha Unified Communications is helping teachers reach students in meaningful ways at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s L-S Academy, a special education program. The L-S Academy is subletting space within Yamaha’s regional office complex. While it might seem like an unorthodox space, it offers amenities the program deeply needs: The robust and easy-to-use Yamaha CS-700 Video Sound Bar.

“We can’t teach in a traditional way anymore; we need more than paper and pencil,” said Tracie Lopez, program director and teacher at L-S Academy. “We’re amazed how the CS-700 supported us. It’s totally changed the way that I present my material.”

One of the program’s missions is to offer enrichment activities from movies to guest speakers. However, due to the pandemic, the school had to close its doors to outside guests. Teachers realized that the already installed Yamaha Video Sound Bars could allow them to continue these services and also enhance their curriculum and workflow.

Yamaha’s CS-700 performs well in education because it is designed to bring audio and video clarity to all communication and collaboration needs. Although displays and projectors that have typically been used in classrooms have built-in speakers, they can lack the power and clarity for classroom use. A poor audio experience isn’t just frustrating; it’s severely disruptive in causing audio fatigue and costing students focus and long-term achievement. Organizations need a high-quality video camera to keep up with the onslaught of remote meetings.

With this in mind, Yamaha created an all-in-one solution that combines surround sound, microphone recording and a camera that pair perfectly with classroom displays and projectors. The Video Sound Bar incorporates an adaptive beamforming microphone array, four Yamaha speakers and a wide-angle HD camera.

“We designed our Video Sound Bars to create crisp, clear audio and video in one easy-to-operate device that makes online conferencing naturally more engaging for everyone,” said Meghan Kennelly, director of global marketing and communications at Yamaha Unified Communications.

At the academy, the teachers were able to quickly learn how to use the system and connect to Google Meet (and many other chosen video conferencing applications) with a simple USB connection to their laptop. The teachers use the Sound Bars in psychology and science lessons to present slideshows, video clips and movies. Students are also able to remotely join classes at the main campus.

“It’s great to see how the instructors and students at L-S Academy are benefiting from the CS-700 in a multitude of ways,” Kennelly added. “It underscores just how vital superior AV technology is and how it can change the course of programs and projects.”