162 ZEISS microscopes are connected in a network at the University of Sydney

162 ZEISS microscopes are connected in a network at the University of Sydney

162 ZEISS microscopes are connected in a network at the University of Sydney
Networked learning with ZEISS microscopes

Networked learning with ZEISS microscopes

Networked learning with ZEISS microscopes
The lab at the Alexander Fleming School in Stuttgart

The lab at the Alexander Fleming School in Stuttgart

The lab at the Alexander Fleming School in Stuttgart

Digital Learning: A School with a Difference

Some 18 months ago, the Alexander Fleming School in Stuttgart introduced a completely new model of learning using cameras, projectors and microscopes – all digitally linked. But what does ZEISS have to do with this? 

Lunch is nearly over at the Alexander Fleming School of Health and Nursing in Stuttgart. Ten students who are studying to be veterinary assistants pull on their white coats in the third-floor laboratory. Today's lesson is about urine tests. Laboratory instructor Gudrun Spengler-Schulz places a prepared sample under the microscope, presses a button on the remote control, and the microscope image immediately appears on the projector screen. The camera of the ZEISS Primo Star is connected to the projector. "Linking things up gives us more scope for conveying knowledge and making learning more interactive and communicative," says Spengler-Schulz. The students work together to determine which components of urine are visible on the screen.

ZEISS supports digital learning

ZEISS has been supporting this digital networking and media-based learning model in Stuttgart for around 18 months. The company has provided the school with 16 ZEISS Primo Star microscopes. These are used at the students' desks, while the instructor has their own microscope with a camera and a connection to the projector.

"We're hoping to see more examples of this new type of interconnected learning environment", says Dr. Jochen Tham, who heads up Global Marketing at ZEISS Microscopy. Germany already boasts a number of digital classrooms at schools such as Kirchseeon High School near Munich and the Fritz-Ehrler School in Tuttlingen, as well as at the Institute of Microbiology at the University of Greifswald.

The biggest, most cutting-edge digital classroom

ZEISS also supports digital learning internationally, and in fact the biggest digital classroom equipped with ZEISS technology is currently located in Sydney, Australia.
The Charles Perkins Center for Education at the University of Sydney has a total of 162 ZEISS Primo Star microscopes which are all connected to each other. The course instructor can link the microscope camera directly to desktop computers, an HD projector, or an iPad. "As a leading technology company, young people's enthusiasm for technology and natural sciences is what motivates us and what makes us successful," says Tham.

"The ZEISS Primo Star and the iPad imaging app Labscope are examples of how we’re keeping pace with recent developments," says Tham, noting that further digital classrooms are already planned for the USA and China.

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School 3.0

School 3.0 describes the increasing integration of digital media in the learning process. Students obtain information from more sources than just their textbooks and network with each other. They cooperate on various tasks by gathering results separately or together and then giving each other feedback. It's not just the technology itself that counts, but also the way it is integrated into lessons and the learning process.

  • 29 Jun 2015
  • by Beatrice Weinberger, Kristin Unger