Create Engaging Active Learning Spaces

Discover the best solutions for your education spaces

Case Studies

Classrooms, lecture halls, and auditoriums from elementary to university level.

AV Technology for Learning Environments

Active learning classrooms allow students to share and collaborate on a task or project, fostering interactive student-centered learning. Using a flexible classroom design, instructors can actively engage the entire class or a small student group using visual communications to prepare them for real-world problem solving.

A typical active learning space has multiple clusters of small student groups and a central instructor station with sound reinforcement to allow students to speak and present, break out into groups, and share results with the class. These spaces can range from a small collaborative room to a large group meeting space or even a lab.

Integral to the active learning experience is the system design. A flexible and scalable AV system within these spaces ensures a smooth flow of content between the instructor and student stations. Our broad range of products including ShareLink Pro Systems, NAV Pro AV over IP Systems, and Sound Reinforcement, offer the latest AV capabilities to meet the requirements of your learning environment.

Powerful Collaboration Using ShareLink Pro

Extron ShareLink Pro is easy to install and set up. ShareLink Pro 2500 Wired and Wireless Presentation Systems coupled with our LinkLicense for Active Learning empower students and instructors to share content to any display in the room.

Student Collaboration

Students work in groups, at each workstation, using their laptops, tablets, or mobile devices to share content wirelessly to the local workstation display.

Active Learning - Instructor Sharing

Instructors can share content, such as the day’s lesson plan, from the central room display to all the student stations for greater visibility.

Active Learning - Student Sharing

The instructor can choose to share content from one or more of the student stations to the main room display or onto other student station displays for more in-depth analysis. The instructor can also show a side-by-side comparison of an example, with work from student stations.

Flexible and Intuitive Control

An Extron-powered active learning classroom offers instructors and students many opportunities to quickly collaborate. The instructor has full AV control capabilities at their fingertips, and students have the ability to share content at every student table. When multiple student groups are working closely together, an instructor can share content using their easy-to-navigate interface. The instructor can share content to one or more student stations, to the room's main display, or share multiple pieces of content for comparative work.

An Extron Global Configurator Plus template is available to tailor the control interface to match your room's configuration. Customizing the template to your room layout is quick and easy, streamlining room setup. Then, instructors can control display assignments using an optional Apple iPad or Android tablet running the Extron Control App or an Extron TouchLink Pro touchpanel.


Tablet running Extron’s Control App	Extron Tabletop TouchLink Pro Touchpanel
Learn more about Extron Control	Learn more about TouchLink Pro Touchpanels

Learn more about Extron Control

Extron Tabletop TouchLink Pro Touchpanel

Learn more about TouchLink Pro Touchpanels

Active Learning LinkLicense

Extron ShareLink Pro LinkLicense for Active Learning is a feature upgrade for ShareLink Pro 2500 Wired and Wireless Presentation Systems. This LinkLicense enables sharing content between multiple ShareLink Pro devices, a powerful feature in creating active learning spaces. It eliminates the need to deploy traditional AV switching equipment that would otherwise be required to send content between systems. You have the flexibility to upgrade your system right out of the box or add it later, as your AV system needs evolve.

Learn more about LinkLicense Enhancements

ShareLink Pro 2500

The ShareLink^® Pro 2500 is the heart of the Wireless Active Learning room. It is a Wired and Wireless Presentation System that enables anyone to present content from computers, tablets, or smartphones on a display for easy collaboration. It supports the simultaneous display of up to four devices. The ShareLink Pro 2500 has collaboration and moderator modes that facilitate both open and controlled collaboration environments, as well as dual Ethernet ports for more secure environments. When used with Extron GlobalViewer Enterprise - GVE software, multiple units can be managed across an enterprise or campus.

For active learning spaces, one ShareLink Pro 2500 with an Active Learning LinkLicense runs each student or instructor station’s display. Network connections provide the communications path for all content shared between the station’s displays. The professional capabilities of ShareLink Pro provide easy integration of AV and mobile devices into active learning spaces.

ShareLink Pro Active Learning Application

This Active Learning system includes six student stations and a single instructor station. The instructor and students use campus Wi-Fi access points to connect their mobile devices to share content. The school uses this configuration in several medium size classrooms, retrofitted with student flat panel displays along the walls, and an instructor display on the front wall. The instructor uses a tablet to control the system, with the ability to walk around the room and work directly with small student groups. Wired network connections connect the ShareLink Pro 2500 units so they can receive content from users and share content between stations. The Active Learning LinkLicense also allows the instructor station's content to be sent as an H.264 stream over the network to an SMP 401 for recording the Active Learning session.

Diagram of the ShareLink Pro Active Learning system.

NAV Pro AV over IP is a Great Fit for Active Learning

Active learning relies on audiovisual content, and the ability to deliver that content where it’s needed. NAV Pro AV over IP is the perfect delivery vehicle. It connects any AV source to any display over a standard IP network to provide ultra-low latency, high quality video and audio. This creates engaging learning experiences for students, and helps save time and money by transporting the AV content over your existing network infrastructure.

The highly scalable system expands and adapts as needs evolve so that your institution is future ready. Students and instructors in active learning spaces can share and collaborate with each other with complete flexibility:

Instructors can distribute AV for exercises from their instructor station to students gathered at student stations in the same room, or anywhere on campus
Students can view AV content originating from partners at their own station, or they can share content with other students or instructors located next door, or across the campus

Learn more about the Nav Pro AV over IP

NAV System Active Learning Application

This NAV Pro AV over IP Active Learning System includes an instructor station and four student stations, which can easily expand to meet your needs. The instructor and students can use the campus Wi-Fi network to connect their mobile devices and share content via the ShareLink Pro 2500, or through convenient HDMI connectivity provided by the NAV encoders located in each station. The instructor can switch any content to any display in any combination using the TouchLink Pro touchpanel. This includes shared resources such as the streaming receiver located in the control room. NAV scaling decoders located behind each display deliver flawless video with imperceivable latency. The control room can support many Active Learning classrooms across the campus. The flexibility and extensibility of the NAV System enables classrooms to be joined for overflow or shared learning.

Diagram of the Av Over IP Active Learning system.

Tailored Sound Reinforcement Enhances Learning

Students’ understanding of subject matter and their ability to actively engage are enhanced when they can clearly hear explanations and discussions. A robust AV infrastructure is necessary to provide high intelligibility and coverage throughout the room and to remote participants. Enriched lessons deliver visual and sound clarity that contributes to greater interaction between the educator and students, and with peers. Transforming to a more active education space using Extron’s line of audio products ensures that the system is up to the task:

Wireless VoiceLift^® Pro microphones for voice reinforcement
A broad range of speakers to meet the needs of your space and deliver consistent sound levels across the listening area
Audio DSP processors tailor sound to the acoustics of any room to eliminate dead spots and echoes
Ultra-efficient amplifiers deliver clear audio with ENERGY STAR^® certified low power consumption
A range of accessories for switching, distributing, embedding, and de-embedding audio signals

Learn more about Extron Audio Systems