Supporting collaborative learning is a major priority for Endicott College, a small liberal arts college 20 miles north of Boston. This is why the college’s Audio Video Services department has built a proof of concept, AV-enabled collaborative classroom in partnership with Integrated Multimedia Solutions (IMS). Anchored with Extron products, the prototype was installed in the Garrish School of Business' (GSB) Team Building Room during the 2023 college winter break.
Built in 2013, GSB’s Team Building classroom has always been a space where 40-48 students work and learn together in groups. Connectivity and multimedia information sharing has been a constant in this room, both between students and with their professor sitting at a computer-equipped instructor’s station.
“The space was originally equipped with an Extron XTP system,” recalled Greg April, director of Audio Visual Services, Endicott College. “The first nine years proved the overall interconnection with the academic program, but as the XTP system neared the decade mark, the capital replacement process came into play. We could either buy a replacement XTP and move on, or we could use the replacement as a test ground for further upgrade options in the future.”
Given how much has changed in AV networking technology since 2013, it made sense for Endicott College to move to a new generation of technology and use its design as a proving ground for the entire campus. This is why the decision was made to replace the XTP system with new Extron NAV Pro AV over IP products. “The Extron NAV system would be able to replicate all of the original system’s signal management and distribution functions, while offering the benefits of using the latest technology to stream video, audio, and control signals over the college network, as well as increased scalability,” explained Robert Morin, who handles AV system design and sales for IMS.
Tale of the Tables
The basic design of the Team Building room uses eight 5x7-foot Spectrum Industries InVision collaboration tables, with each table accommodating a team of six students. A 43-inch 4K LED display is mounted on each side of the pedestal that joins two attached tables, giving each team its own local display.
Every team table is equipped to power and connect student laptops and other BYODs. Extron Cable Cubby enclosures, reused from the previous installation, house connecting cables, network ports, and power outlets. The room’s network allows students to share AV content from their devices on their table's local displays.
At the instructor’s station, an Extron TouchLink Pro 10-inch touchpanel allows any team’s content, as well as content from the instructor, to be sent to the other table displays and the room’s projection systems. Content is projected onto screens on opposite walls of the room to ensure that everyone can see it at all times. A floor box connects the station to the room’s projection system and collaboration tables.
A rack within the instructor's station houses its PC as well as AV system components including the audio amplifier, Extron IP Link Pro control processor, and the NAVigator System Manager, which is used to control the NAV Pro AV over IP system. The instructor station also has its own connection cables for laptops or other BYODs.
Something Old, Something New
When it comes to the Team Building room’s AV equipment and system, the new technology includes the NAVigator with Link License upgrade to include 48 endpoints, plus 10 Extron NAV E 101 encoders, 11 NAV SD101 scaling decoders, IPCP Pro 360Q xi control processor, and touchpanel. The room was rounded out with a pair of Extron FF 220 speakers and an MPA 601 audio amp, and a network switch was installed in the teaching station's equipment rack to allow the room's operation to continue even in case of a network outage.
"Endicott's AV system has a dedicated VLAN for its control devices and AV switches, and now a dedicated NAV VLAN for the Team Building room," April added. “Another design goal was to upgrade the control system to be compatible with Extron Global Configurator Pro and the latest Extron Global Viewer Enterprise management software. Thanks to excellent equipment, a solid design, and an involved network team that was critical for success, the room's up-time has been on par with a wall-mounted TV.”
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Meanwhile, the Cable Cubby enclosures weren’t the only piece of existing tech that Endicott College and IMS were able to recycle. “The existing two NEC laser projectors and Da-Lite Advantage Electrol projection screens were reused,” Morin said. “Existing furniture that was repurposed includes the eight media collaboration tables for the teams and a Spectrum Industries Freedom XRS Elite height-adjustable lectern for the instructor's station.”
Time Crunch
Ripping out the existing AV system and installing the new one between semesters was a major challenge for the Endicott College/IMS project team. But it wasn’t the only issue.
“Getting buy-in on a fundamental system design change was the first step,” said April. “I, for one, am conservative in making design changes—and rarely would I consider myself an early adopter of the latest tech toy. Then, when the original team building room was brought online, there were issues stemming from cabling problems. Though resolved long ago, the rough start was still very much in living memory for many members of the faculty.”
Still, once the choice was made to convert the room to NAV, timing the installation team with the class schedule was the main challenge. “We took advantage of a break in classes," April said, "and in four days, the old hardware was removed and the new system took its place.”
“The window for installation was short due to classroom schedules, but the installation and commissioning were successfully completed within the allotted time,” noted Morin. “Remote commissioning with Extron went smoothly and flawlessly.”
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The upgrade has been a solid success for Endicott College, with April reporting fewer calls to the help desk. With the project complete and concept proven, Endicott College has two other Team Building rooms that would benefit from similar upgrades. In fact, the second room conversion is currently under budget review, and April said other spaces could be improved by similar AV updates.
“There are several theater and event spaces on campus that have regular requests for capabilities outside of what the room was designed to do,” he explained. “NAV allows for such significant ad hoc matrix switch options using a web interface that could prove a game changer in system design.”
