Classroom Upgrades: New Devices to Enhance SMUFlex

Owl and DTENIn preparation for the Fall semester, each classroom received a variety of technology components to help facilitate SMUFlex. The focus during the initial upgrade was to ensure high-quality video and audio for the instructor, whiteboard capabilities and zoom. As fall classes began, the need for audience microphones became more critical in providing an enhanced experience for the remote students particularly in classes that rely heavily on discussion. Several temporary solutions were deployed in a few classrooms to help provide this functionality. The University has allocated additional funding to purchase technology for 62 classrooms to improve the online experience for students this spring. Continue reading Classroom Upgrades: New Devices to Enhance SMUFlex

Teams pivot to support simultaneous in-person and online classes this fall

Epson ScreenClassroom instruction has been turned upside down this year, shifting from 100% in-person to 100% online.  As we return to the Hilltop for Summer 2, we are anticipating yet another transition where instruction occurs in both online and face-to-face modalities simultaneously.  Pedagogically, this will require a good bit of flexibility for faculty. The classroom technology to support this hybridized approach is also very different and complex. Continue reading Teams pivot to support simultaneous in-person and online classes this fall

New Classroom Equipment Includes HD Lecture Capture Technology

room control panelThis summer has certainly been a busy one when it comes to freshening up the campus. Many buildings are receiving intense renovations, and classroom technology improvements are of course part of the process. Over the past few months, some classrooms have received special new equipment, including long-lasting laser projectors, upgraded lectern PCs with quick solid-state storage, and even high-definition lecture recording systems. Continue reading New Classroom Equipment Includes HD Lecture Capture Technology

Classrooms Receive Technology Upgrades and Inventory Over Summer

OIT Classroom Technology HomepageDuring the summer, OIT was busy making changes to more than 40 rooms, compiling a full classroom AV inventory, building a webpage that allows faculty and staff to locate rooms that match their technology requirements and installing two new lecture capture solutions in 7 rooms.  We also added the upgraded rooms to our automated control system to notify us in advance of major issues. This brings our total to 145 rooms now configured in the monitoring tool. Continue reading Classrooms Receive Technology Upgrades and Inventory Over Summer