- Lehigh University, located in Bethlehem, Pa., places a premium on providing its student population with the resources necessary for developing real-life, on-the-job skills. You will find this commitment to "experiential learning" in daily practice at the school's unique and innovative Financial Services Laboratory (FSL), located on the second floor of the university's Rauch Business Center.
"AMX has really stepped up in support of what we are trying to accomplish at the university," said Bob Kendi, Director of the Philip Rauch Center for Business Communications.
FSL & AMX®
- In this 27-seat classroom, AMX control system technology plays a pivotal role in the flow of information and ideas because it shows students what they can expect in today's rapid-paced, pressure-packed domestic and global economic marketplaces.
- "AMX has really stepped up in support of what we are trying to accomplish at the university," said Bob Kendi, Director of the Philip Rauch Center for Business Communications.
- So has Vistacom Inc., an AMX Dealer based in Allentown, Pa., that was selected by the university to handle the on-site installation of the AMX system as well as user interface programming for the AMX 8.4-inch Modero ViewPoint Touch Panels (MVP-8400).
- "We made sure to take into account the 'cool factor' in our designs for Lehigh," said Mark Ripley, ACE Programmer at Vistacom. "I think the faculty and staff at the university are extremely pleased with the results."
Worth the Time & Investment
- It took several years to create the FSL. The idea came about 10 years ago, through the efforts of Jim Greenleaf, an associate professor of finance and law. Details for the project were constructed with advice from Richard Durand, Herbert E. Ehlers, Dean of the College of Business and Economics, university faculty members and alumni. Durand was key in the process by fundraising. He was aided by several Lehigh alums, notably Marc Paley of Lehman Brothers and chairman of the fundraising committee, John Callies of IBM and Charlie Lieb of Knoll Inc. Kendi assisted with synthesizing hardware and software, and overseeing the construction of the lab.
- Key corporate partners for the FSL were: IBM (donated computers), Thomson Financial (donated data services), Knoll, Inc. (donated furniture), and Market News International (donated news feed).
- A $3.5-million endowment for the FSL enabled Lehigh to design and build the most advanced classroom on its campus. The lab's focus is the simulation of a media-intensive, media-driven Wall Street-style setting, complete with a wall-mounted stock quote ticker board, individual laptop computers at each student station and three side-by-side projection screens at the head of the room for displaying internal data and viewing external media sources. The multi-purpose lab the room's back wall entirely made of thick-pained glass for individuals to peer in without disruption also serves as a "think tank" for the research of financial areas of interest such as theories, models and investments.
- The FSL has "generated a lot of buzz among the business students," Kendi said. "There are often times when as many as 10 to15 students are looking in on the lab between classes."
In High Demand
- According to Kendi, the FSL has had a significant impact in how students, faculty and staff envision the possibilities of higher education combined with the latest technology advances. It continues to impact all disciplines and majors across campus: undergraduates and graduates in accounting, business, computer science, engineering, finance, journalism, law and mathematics, as well as faculty and admissions, career services and community outreach staff at the university.
- "With such a wide variety and amount of people using the lab, we were prompted to outline and create modules for specific courses, which will always have a financial tie-in due to the practical application and mission of the FSL and the technology involved," Kendi said. "Students with a major in French use the lab in order to be able to watch the activity of stock quotes and other media generated from the Marché à Terme International de France (the French stock exchange).
- "For example, electrical engineering students come to the FSL to learn more about wireless networking and to get the opportunity to see the wireless Modero ViewPoint panel in action," Kendi explained. Journalism students have a forum to read breaking news articles and critique the business and financial writing style from international news agencies such as Market News International and Thomson Financial News. Finance students use the FSL for their investment classes, in which they can analyze a potential market and, in turn, put together simulated stock portfolios. It's all real-world, experiential learning."
- The FSL maximizes the classroom experience by giving students a real-time link between world events and their impact on financial markets. These advancements will also provide students with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of financial technology.
- According to Durand, "The FSL is building a base in which new and meaningful information, analytics and simulations are combined in a manner that will require substantive problem-solving approaches to dealing with ambiguous situations. In financial services, there is seldom a single answer to a problem, so one can't present information in a formulaic fashion. Rather, we will use the lab in a way that will show students how to arrive at answers using multiple frameworks."
Seamlessly Wireless
- The MVP-8400 from AMX is one of those frameworks, creating a seamless and responsive learning environment. Prior to the implementation of this wireless handheld touch panel, an instructor was anchored to a stationary monitor, which was positioned on a swivel attached to the podium at the front corner of the room. Now, the MVP-8400 allows the instructor to move freely throughout the FSL while remaining in continuous control of source equipment residing inconspicuously and out-of-sight in the podium.
Touch and Go
- The MVP-8400's G4 user interface welcomes the instructor or visiting speaker with a home page displaying the Lehigh University logo. This is step one in the process of taking control through AMX. By simply touching the interface anywhere on the home page, a series of buttons at the top are activated to reveal each integrated device available.
- In this case, the FSL incorporates access to a PC (tabletop), laptop (PC), document camera, DVD/VHS player and television tuner. Upon selection of the desired source, the button goes to full screen with a full complement of equipment functionality, such as "play," "pause" and "fast forward." The end user then has the ability to choose any one of the three projectors to display the source for the rest of the class to see one source at a time or three simultaneously.
