- The modern classroom plays an active role in the learning process, providing content from video, digital media, and computer presentations, as well as traditional sources. It is networked with the school's computer system as well as the Internet, and reaches beyond its walls to offer video-streamed lectures, accessible around the world. These kinds of capabilities provide the finest possible education to a new generation of technically oriented students.
Powerful, Transparent Control
- At the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in Syracuse, N.Y., professors use AMX control installed in three classrooms to facilitate a fully integrated, highly responsive integrated learning environment. The AMX NetLinx Control System integrates different types of communications and display equipment so as to impact the educational process in a positive way. Befitting the stature of the SUNY-ESF academic community, administrators and faculty wanted to incorporate new technology that would enhance the classroom and appeal to students. It also had to be extremely intuitive. The professors instructions were clear: We're teachers, not techs. "Many colleges are currently exploring technology and the ways in which it can be used," said Doug Montcrief, Chief Design Engineer at Univisions Communications Group, a premier AMX Dealer also based in Syracuse, and the exclusive systems integrator for this project. "The staff worked with us to create an environment that would harness control technology without drastically changing each individual professor's style of teaching. The idea was to have technology present but as transparent as possible."
Specialized Presentations
- Mounted within a lecturn positioned at the front of all three rooms, an AMX 15" Touch Panel allows intructors and visiting presenters the ability to control a variety of audio and video content. Easy-to-read high-resolutions on-screen panel images and buttons offer intuitive features programmed to seamlessly cue video, display overhead slides, cycle through transparencies, access univerity computer network files, activate projectors and drop-down-screens, and more. NetLinx meets the college's highest expectations and is still simple enough for the most tenured professor to run the room with point-and-click ease. "NetLinx was in the equation from the beginning," Montcrief said. "The system functionality and Touch Panel design were well documented early on so we could provide an effective solution embraced by faculty and administration members."
- For specialized presentations, instructors take advantage of a 50" plasma screen located in one of the boardroom-style classrooms. Professors can transcribe notes directly on the screen using a "smart-board" overlay. With an AMX 32-Button Keypad or wireless AMX PC Presenter handheld transmitter, on-screen images and annotations can be saved as part of a single computer graphic file — ready to view, print, or email using any networked AMX Touch Panel or computer. "The college as a whole and the IT department I worked with on-site had a wonderful implementation for using their local network to retrieve files and programs," Montcrief said. "As part of the installation, the 'smart board' overlay was a popular feature for many professors who took to it right away."
Tech-Savvy Students
- Advanced AMX control reaches out to technology-savvy students, as well. Class presentations afford each student a dedicated microphone with volume control. An in-ceiling camera, programmed to track the microphone, pinpoints the student's position anywhere in the room. AMX control routes signals from this "student cam", along with audio and video, to other rooms on campus and off-site locations to accommodate classroom overflow and facilitate two-way distance learning. "The initial responce to all of this is that it lets teachers teach," Montcrief said. "They can use A/V technology without having to be familiar with the any different pieces of equipment."
Screening Room
- VTM-D15 15-inch Tabletop Touch Panels
- NXI NetLinx Integrated Controller
- AXB-TPI/3 Touch Panel Interface 3
- TP3-RGB TP/3 RGB Cards
- TXC32+ 32-Button Transmitter
- PC2 Power Current Sensor
- AXR-MSE Wirless Mouse/Keyboard Interface
- VSS2 Video Sync Sensor
