PLC is the most connected school globally

Pymble Ladies' College (PLC) was at the vanguard of change in education 15 years ago being one of the first schools to mandate the  use of laptop computers for all students. The technology evolution continues today at PLC.

The Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, officially opened the new Senior School Centre - Kate Mason Building at Pymble Ladies’ College on Saturday 29 January 2011. “The new centre allows visionary concepts for educating future generations,” said the College Principal, Vicki Waters. “Educating for the future is about preparing young people for a world requiring flexibility, problem-solving skills, technology skills, analytical skills and teamwork. It is no longer about the delivery of content.”

The unique design of the building, combined with cutting-edge technologies, provides the framework for fostering a learning community and paves the way for teachers and senior students to develop a learning culture based on partnership, the generation of ideas, innovation, multitasking using 21st-century technologies and creativity and diversity in searching for solutions.

The college has partnered with Cisco, to showcase the new learning environment as a centre for innovation in education, giving Pymble students access to leading-edge technologies.

“Cisco is extremely proud to join Pymble Ladies’ College in creating the momentum for change with the opening of the Senior School Centre to help transform education so that it is relevant to the needs of 21st-century learners,” said Ken Boal, Director of Public Sector for Cisco Australia and New Zealand.

Andrew Thomson, Director of Sales and Business Development - Public Sector Cisco, ANZ, said, “This learning centre will help students take a leading role in the community. They will be able to rearch out and respond and interact out to the world and the community developing 21st-century skills. By inviting the outside world into the school through the connectivity this centre offers ... the benefit of being environmentally responsible, green, safer and smarter. Some of the technology used in the centre is so cutting edge it is not available commercially yet.”

The design of the building affirms the college’s commitment to environmental awareness, sustainability, recycling and carbon emission reduction. Green features of the centre include mixed mode air conditioning, low-energy floor heating in main areas, movement/daylight sensor-controlled lights, high-performance glazing and high levels of insulation, rainwater harvesting for WC flushing and irrigation and the building has been assessed to achieve 82% savings against baseline energy-efficiency requirements of the Building Code of Australia.

Design features include flexible, high-visibility rooms for single and multiple classes, cutting-edge information technology, a 260-seat lecture theatre, a circular conference room equipped with immersive and life-like, high-definition videoconferencing facilities suitable for collaborative work and meetings, and spaces for students to work, study and relax.

The Cisco Conference in the Round is a room shaped with its state-of-the-art audio, visual and videoconferencing facilities that sets a benchmark for multimedia learning space in Kindergarten to Year 12 education. It allows for maximum technology enablement of education with Cisco technologies offering connectivity, speed and collaboration to provide a connected learning environment for Pymble students and, in particular, Years 11 and 12 students, our next-generation workforce.

Specific Cisco technology in the centre includes videoconferencing, unified communications, digital media signage, IP voice and video collaboration and Cius Tablets which are not yet commercially available.

By Merri Mack