AV/IT TEAM: Lauren Turin, director; Todd Hughes, AV project manager; Andy Beasom, senior classroom technologist; Brendan Kepple, classroom technologist
GOALS: Allocation of space within Bayer Hall was designated for the creation of two instructional areas for the newly established Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine. The renovation comprised three main facets: enhance an existing lecture hall, transform four classrooms into a single breakout area capable of accommodating 180 students, and, in alignment with university standards, maintain uniformity in AV technology across the learning spaces.
CHALLENGES: During the course of the project, we were able to overcome a number of challenges. We established a collaborative breakout space for 180 students within a flat room by tiering the tables, ensuring each two rows are the same height to facilitate collaboration among students.
We ensured the visibility of content screens from all areas of the breakout space by adding two large projection screens at the front of the room and replacing the two mid-room, ceiling-mounted, initially specified 50-inch flat panels with 75-inch flat panels. We were also able to economically equip both the breakout space and the lecture hall (theater seating) with microphones at each seat by adding crowd mics and the Catchbox throwable microphone in lieu of individual gooseneck microphones.
We optimized the viewing comfort of the projection screen for students seated in the front rows of the lecture hall by securing a 65-inch flat panel to the front face of the lab table/podium setup. Additionally, we facilitated content annotation visible to all participants by adding a writable monitor and a document camera to address different teaching styles and incorporated Mediasite lecture recording with instructor control when recording schedules are pre-programmed by introducing pause button functionality to the in-room Mediasite recorder.
And finally, we were able to accommodate live hybrid teaching in conjunction with Mediasite by including the standard University Zoom setup: a webcam mounted on a movable microphone stand and a Nureva microphone.
FINAL INSTALL/USER BENEFITS: Consistent technology and intuitive push-button classroom control systems provide ease of use for all instructors. Epson laser projectors deliver crisp images. JBL array speakers offer exceptional audio quality, especially when used in conjunction with the Catchbox Clip Mic. The integrated pause button for Mediasite recordings affords faculty control of their lecture recordings. The Nureva microphone captures both Zoom and Mediasite audio streams. The implementation of the throwable Catchbox microphone fosters student engagement. The tiered seating layouts ensure an unobstructed line of sight for both students and instructors and the breakout room provides the added benefit of a height-adjustable podium. Additionally, since the technology is aligned with university standards, the AV team can remotely monitor the classroom equipment through Extron’s GVE solution.
