Client problem
A school technology client required a classroom observation and lesson recording platform designed to support teacher training, lesson review and professional development without disrupting the classroom environment.
The system needed to allow:
- Teachers to self-record lessons
- Remote live lesson observation by peers and department staff
- Secure lesson storage and playback
- Event tagging during lessons for later review
- Multi-classroom deployment across an entire school
- Minimal impact on pupils and classroom activity
The platform also needed to provide a simple and reliable user experience for non-technical teaching staff while supporting large-scale video storage and management.
Solution
Designed and developed a complete classroom observation ecosystem incorporating custom electronics hardware, embedded systems, server infrastructure and Windows-based management software.
The solution included:
- Mobile HD PTZ classroom camera units
- Integrated wireless audio capture
- iOS app alternative video capture device
- RFID-based teacher authentication
- Centralised lesson recording and storage
- Live lesson streaming and remote observation
- Event tagging and lesson review tools
- Reporting and analytics functionality
- Multi-camera school-wide deployment support
A custom handheld event tagging device was also developed, enabling staff to quickly mark positive or negative teaching and pupil interaction moments during live lessons for rapid navigation during playback and evaluation.
The platform was designed to provide unobtrusive operation within active classrooms while supporting scalable deployment throughout entire school sites.
IBEX Role
- Full electronics hardware design
- Embedded firmware development
- PCB design and system architecture
- Desktop application development
- Server-side software development
- Video streaming and storage infrastructure
- RFID integration and authentication systems
- UI/UX design for teaching staff workflows
- Multi-device communications architecture
- Reporting and analytics system development
Technology Stack
- Embedded C/C++
- Desktop software
- iOS
- Video streaming systems
- RFID technologies
- WiFi communications
- Server-side application development
- Database and storage systems
- PTZ camera control systems
Challenges Overcome
- Designing a reliable video and audio streaming platform for simultaneous multi-classroom operation.
- Playback sync of dual video streams from different devices.
- Creating a user experience suitable for non-technical teaching staff.
- Ensuring unobtrusive classroom operation without negatively affecting pupils or lesson delivery.
- Managing large-scale video storage, indexing and retrieval.
- Implementing reliable wireless connectivity and remote camera control.
- Supporting scalable deployment across multiple classrooms and users.
Outcome
Successfully delivered a fully integrated classroom observation and teacher development platform including custom hardware, embedded systems, server infrastructure and desktop software.
The system enabled schools to improve lesson review, peer observation and teacher development processes through secure, scalable and easy-to-use classroom recording and analytics capabilities.
