Local University goes Super High Tech!

Synergy Media Group installed 21 high-end technology classrooms for a local university this summer. The University established three classroom “levels” with varying technological functionality which were rolled out across campus.

Walkthrough Of Crestron Touchpanel – YouTube Video

Level 1, the basic classrooms, included a high definition projector and an electric screen. Sources to the projector included laptop inputs, a dedicated PC, a document camera, and a BluRay DVD player. The dedicated PC is integrated into a 22″ HD Smart Sympodium which allows the professor to annotate over all software and video located on the dedicated PC. Audio from all sources through six to eight ceiling speakers, depending on room size. The entire room, including lighting, is controlled via a 4″ Crestron touchpanel. When the professor enters the classroom, he/she presses “System Start” on the touchpanel and the electric screen lowers, the projector turns on, the audio ramps to the appropriate levels, and the dedicated PC automatically displays on the projection screen.

Level 2, the intermediate classrooms, contain dual high definition projectors and dual high definition electric screens. Two 46″ LCD’s are mounted on the back wall in each level 2 classroom to provide the professor with dual confidence monitors. Confidence monitors provide the instructor the ability to see what’s being displayed on the projection screens without turning his/her back to the students. Wireless lavalier microphones, wireless handheld microphones, and a podium microphone provide voice amplification in these classrooms. The main purpose of these rooms allows for the ability of classroom to classroom instruction. Cisco C60′s (formerly Tandberg) were deployed in the six intermediate classrooms and allow the professor to teach to additional students in other local classrooms when large lecture halls are unavailable. The professor is able to send any two high-definition sources to each far end projector (ie. Laptop/Doc Cam, Instructor Cam/Dedicated PC, etc). The entire room, including lighting, is controlled via a 15″ high-definition Crestron touchpanel.

Level 3, the advanced classrooms, mirror the intermediate classrooms in functionality with a few major changes. The advanced rooms are designed for off-campus distance learning through three Cisco C60′s (formerly Tandberg). In the Level 3 classrooms, the university is able to deliver classes to other universities, branch campuses, and k-12 classrooms. Each student seat in the Level 3 rooms have a push-to-talk microphone and a 4″ Crestron touchpanel. When a student has a question for the professor, the student presses their push-to-mic to unmute the microphone and ask a question. When the student touches the microphone, the video conferencing camera zooms in on the student asking the question so that far-end classroom can see the face of the student. After the question is asked, the camera zooms back to full classroom view. The student’s 4″ Crestron touchpanels provide a very unique and creative use. When the students enter the classroom, they enter their names on the virtual keypads on the touchpanels. Once complete, the student’s names appear on a LED board directly in front of their seat so the professor can identify each student by name on the first day of class. Secondly, these touchpanels allow the professor to hold anonymous polling sessions. For example, the professor can ask the class a question with and request the students to answer A, B, C, D, and E. In real-time, the professor sees the anonymous results of the poll on the instructor touchpanel. Once the poll is complete, the professor can then immediately show the poll results on each student’s local touchpanel. Professors have found additional creative uses for polling. For example, one professor asks his students to press A if he is going to fast, B if just right, or C if he’s going to slow. Since our polling system provides real-time results, the professor is able to tailor his teaching style based on real-time data. Finally, all the classes in the level 3 rooms can be recorded via a MediaSite recording system. All classes are then uploaded to a server where students can login and stream any classes they are enrolled in from anywhere in the world.

All classrooms are integrated into Crestron RoomView

which provides the university technicians the ability to monitor all classroom technology remotely.