nbn multicast and green classrooms trialled in schools

Technology in the classroom is altering the education of children all the way across Australia.

Classrooms could soon be powered entirely by renewable energy as the result of a ‘Hivve’ modular classroom that is now under trial in NSW schools.

Meanwhile, nbn co’s launch of its Sky Muster multicast services trial in schools across the Northern Territory is hoped to enhance online learning for students in remote areas.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing Hivve Technology with $368,115 in funding to pilot its modular classrooms in a school environment.

Known as the ‘Hivve’, the portable classroom incorporates solar PV generation, real-time energy metering, CO₂ metering, data capture and communications to actively manage energy demands and control indoor environment quality.

Each Hivve classroom has the potential to generate enough electricity to power itself and two other classrooms in the school.

A regular classroom can consume on average 3800 kWh per year, but when a Hivve classroom is in use, there is an estimated net energy generation of 7600 kWh per year.

The two pilot classrooms are being trialled at St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School in Holsworthy in Sydney’s south-western suburbs and at Dapto High School, where the performance of the Hivve classrooms will be monitored and evaluated over a 12-month period.

A prototype building built by Hivve Technology has successfully demonstrated the functionality in a controlled environment and this will be the first time the Hivve classroom and technology has been trialled in a real school.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said there was enormous potential for Australia’s public schools to not only educate on renewables, but also reduce their reliance on the grid.

“This is a great way to get the next generation involved in renewables at an early age and educate them as to what the positive benefits will be as Australia continues its shift towards a renewable energy future,” he said.

“The success of the Hivve project could lead to a nationwide adoption of the modular classrooms, reducing reliance on the grid and even providing a significant amount of electricity back to the NEM.”

Meanwhile, new multicast technology from nbn co allows remote students to participate in virtual classrooms in high resolution from home, helping to close the education gap between rural students and their urban counterparts.

Multicast allows schools to send data once to one place, and nbn co then distributes it to everyone that is listening — rather than it being distributed many times over. This will allow students to participate from home without interfering with their standard broadband connection.

“Learning in these remote locations will now be easier thanks to Sky Muster’s multicast technology, giving students and teachers access to online learning through clear audio, high-resolution video and the ability to share large files,” said Senator for the Northern Territory Nigel Scullion.

“The trial of the broadband service will span over three months in 15 locations across the Northern Territory, including the School of the Air in Alice Springs, Katherine and Ludmilla, maximising its reach to students.”

Subject to the results of the trial, nbn co plans to roll out the technology to regional and remote locations across Australia from mid-2018.

nbn co’s Sky Muster is already providing eligible distance education students with access to additional data allowances of 50 Gb per month to help them make the most of their studies.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/sasinparaksa | Elements of this image are furnished by NASA

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