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Technology Designations

Technology Designations

Oct 30, 2024

Overview

The university's Technology Designations are used to provide an overview of a room, space, or portable system’s technology features, capabilities, and equipment.  This information is intended to aid in matching courses and instructors to rooms, administrative staff to meeting rooms, and so forth.  The designations can be used in Coursedog, EMS, and elsewhere to identify rooms compatible with a user's needs.

Details

To get the most value from our technology designations, please review the following:

  • A technology designation defines a minimum set of requirements.  A room may exceed a designation's requirements wildly and still retain that designation,

  • A room can serve multiple roles, and may therefore receive multiple designations.  For instance, a large lecture hall might be a “Technology Classroom” and an “Event Space” at the same time.  A particular user might only be interested in the capabilities of one of those designations, but will still be able to identify rooms that support their needs.

  • Rooms are assigned all designations for which they qualify, even if one is a superset of another.  This serves to prevent rooms from being artificially excluded from search results.

  • Designations do not specify whether the system includes a built-in computer for the use of instructors and presenters.  Instead, filter searches in Coursedog and EMS by the “Presentation Computer” technology features to identify rooms with a built-in computer.  For other rooms, users must supply a laptop.

Designations

Traditional Classrooms

Technology Classroom

Our most conventional instructional AV systems, Technology Classrooms support presentation of standard multimedia instructional materials  - PowerPoint slides, YouTube videos, music playback, etc.

Technology Classroom - Required Features

  1. A video display system.

  2. A sound system.

  3. Connections to use a laptop or other content source with items 1 and 2.

HyFlex Classrooms

Developed across the education community in response to the impacts of the COVID pandemic, the “HyFlex” concept aims to support simultaneous instruction of students attending locally and remotely.  Videoconferencing equipment is combined with conventional instructional technology, replicating the capabilities of a Technology Classroom, but with reach beyond the classroom walls.  These rooms also contain all the necessary equipment to support full lecture capture.

Seminar HyFlex Classroom

Systems with this designation contain the core technology to successfully support mixed local and distance learning in smaller classrooms with roundtable, seminar, or conference-style seating, and which accommodate no more than ~14 students.  

Seminar Hyflex Classroom - Required Features

  1. A video display system (flat-panel systems preferred wherever possible).

  2. A conferencing camera.

  3. A conferencing sound-system, including a mics, speakers, and echo-cancellation

  4. A digital whiteboarding solution, such as a document camera, drawing tablet, or whiteboard camera.

HyFlex Classroom

Systems with this designation contain the necessary technology to support mixed local and distance learning in standard classrooms.. 

HyFlex Classroom - Required Features

  1. A video display system (flat-panel systems preferred wherever possible)

  2. A PTZ camera providing a view of the lecturer.

  3. A digital whiteboarding solution, such as a document camera, drawing tablet, or whiteboard camera.

  4. A ceiling microphone array.

  5. A professional speaker system.

  6. A dedicated acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) processor for conferencing audio.

Advanced HyFlex Classroom

Systems with this designation contain improved technology to streamline mixed local and distance learning in standard classrooms..  

Advanced HyFlex Classroom - Required Features

  1. Two video display devices, one to display presentation content, one to display remote attendees.

  2. A dedicated videoconference host computer.

  3. A PTZ camera or cameras, providing views of the instructor and students

  4. A ceiling microphone array.

  5. A whiteboard camera.

  6. A secondary digital whiteboarding solution, such as a document camera, drawing tablet, or multi-touch display.

  7. A professional speaker system.

  8. A dedicated acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) processor for conferencing audio.

  9. A central, programmable control system.

Campus Connected Classroom

Systems with this designation are Advanced Hyflex Classrooms designed specifically to connect two  or more classrooms, in support of instructors leading courses in multiple classrooms, potentially across multiple institutions.

Campus Connected Classroom - Required Features

  1. The room must be laid out so that:

    1. the instructor can easily see the local students and the display upon which the other classroom(s) are shown,

    2. the local students can easily see the instructor, the instructors presentation materials, and the the display upon which the other classroom(s) are shown, 

    3. the camera view provided to the remote classrooms is capable of showing both the instructor and the local students.

Mobile Hyflex System

Systems with this designation are Seminar Hyflex Classrooms, with all components mounted on a single rolling cart that can be moved around the classroom or from room to room.

Computer Labs

Our system designations include only broad definitions of lab spaces.

General Computer Lab

These rooms contain one or more collections of identically-configured computers for general student use.  

Specialized Computer Lab

A Specialized Computer Lab contains one or more collections of identically-configured computers, as with a General Computer Lab.  However, the computers are paired with specific software, peripherals, and/or other features which limit the use of the lab to a narrow range of academic pursuits.

Digital Arts Studio

A Digital Arts Studio is a Specialized Computer Lab space in which a digitizer tablet is provided for every workstation, including the instructional computer if present.

Conference and Videoconference Rooms

Meeting administrative needs rather than academic, systems with these designation support activities like teleconferencing, video-conferencing, and the presentation of digital content.

Technology Conference Room

Systems with this designation contain technology to support sharing of digital content in a meeting/conference format, as well as remote attendance by phone.

Technology Conference Room - Required Features

  1. A video display system.

  2. A sound system.

  3. Connections to use a laptop or other content source with items 1 and 2

  4. A teleconference speakerphone.

Videoconference Room

Systems with this designation contain standard technology to support video-conference meetings.

Videoconference Room - Required Features

  1. A non-projection display system.

  2. A conferencing camera

  3. A conferencing sound-system, including a mics, speakers, and echo-cancellation

  4. A dedicated videoconference/presentation host computer.

Advanced Videoconference Room

Systems with this designation contain technology to support videoconference calls that leverage shared multimedia content, including a videoconferencing host computer.   

Advanced Videoconference Room - Required Features

  1. Two non-projection display systems, one to display content, and one to display remote attendees or presenters

  2. A dedicated videoconference host computer.

  3. A PTZ or wide-FoV camera

  4. A ceiling microphone array.

  5. A digital whiteboarding solution, such as a whiteboard camera, or document camera.

  6. A professional speaker system.

  7. A dedicated acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) processor for conferencing audio.

  8. A central, programmable control system.

Other Designations

Film Screening Room

Systems with this designation contain technology to support cinema-quality video presentations. 

Film Screening Room - Required Features

  1. A high-resolution, high-luminance, cinema-scale, digital-projection video display system.

  2. A cinema-grade multi-channel surround audio system.

  3. A dedicated video-source computer.

  4. Region/zone/code-free playback devices for DVD and Blu-Ray.

  5. A central, programmable touch-screen control system.

Event Technology Space

These rooms contain technology to support events such as visiting lecturers, panel discussions, and the like.  

Event Technology Space - Required Features

  1. A professional sound-reinforcement system.

  2. A multi-channel microphone mixer.

  3. A minimum of two XLR microphone inputs at convenient locations in the room.

  4. Two wireless microphone combo systems.

Featured Event Technology Space

These systems comfortably support a wide variety of events and attendees.

Featured Event Technology Space - Required Features

  1. A professional sound-reinforcement system

  2. A multi-channel mic mixer (16 channels minimum).

  3. A minimum of 6 XLR microphone inputs at the front of the room.

  4. A minimum of 2 XLR microphone inputs at convenient locations elsewhere in the room.

  5. Two wireless microphone combo systems.

  6. A hearing assist system with a minimum of two receivers.

  7. An XLR audio media feed at the rear of the room.