Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62215
Not only can educators control all classroom equip- ment via a podium with touchpanel technology, but technicians can access that same equipment off-site via the Internet. AMX's 17" Modero touchpanel and Crestron's e-control interface are two products available for internal and external room controls. place,'" says Coyne. "That reaction can be a big recruitment tool." Bannister of the Olin School agrees that the "wow" factor can be a way to enhance a school's public persona. In fact, he believes the Olin School may have missed an opportunity to take full advantage of its IT and audiovisual command center, now located in the back of the Knight Center behind closed doors. Had Olin School administra- tors known then what they know now, says Bannister, they might have chosen to place the command center in a more prominent place in the building, behind glass, so that visitors could easily pause for a moment to view it in action. begins, explains Scott Norder, AMX's vice president of busi- ness development. "If an instructor wants to present pre-recorded content, he can schedule a classroom to have the VCR cued to dis- play the show and the TV monitors and projectors in the room tuned to the right channels," Norder explains. "Such control systems make the more complex presentation sys- tems effortless to operate and easy to maintain. Rather than worry about the equipment, instructors can focus on what they do best—educating." Norwalk, Connecticut, a provider of electronic display walls. In the past, he says, Trans-Lux primarily served the corporate and investment market, but business schools are becoming a growing presence on his client list. One reason for this bur- geoning interest in real-time displays, he believes, is business schools' pursuit of that ever-elusive "wow" effect. "When students and potential donors tour a school, the school wants them to walk in and say, 'Wow, look at this 48 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 The "Wow" Factor Enhancing the functionality of classroom AV equipment is only one reason b-schools are tapping into this new technol- ogy. They're also using the visual impact of audiovisual tech- nology to enhance their campuses. Colorful data walls that display a range of stock information and video in real-time have offered business schools a way to send a message to the public that they stand at the forefront of the information age. Gene Coyne is vice president of sales for Trans-Lux of New Challenges Educators know that students are bound to become more accustomed to the "wow" of multimedia and may be less than satisfied with the static presentations of the past. The implica- tions for educators may be significant. Schools may put more into producing their course videos, to create more sophisti- cated videos for students who watch the recording outside the classroom. They may move more courses to be broadcast via streaming video, or require that courses be recorded in mul- tiple formats for flexible access. They may become, in essence, more like Hollywood than ever before. Bannister of the Olin School points out that its executive MBA and executive education students are developing high- er expectations when it comes to the quality and aesthetics of taped classes. The format of recorded classes is also becom- ing an issue. Some students prefer to watch the recordings on the road, but they are unable to watch VHS tapes when they travel. Likewise, streaming video requires a high-speed Internet connection that not all hotels provide. Con - sequently, students are requesting that courses be recorded straight to DVDs, which can be viewed on a laptop anywhere in the world. "Production issues have become a greater challenge," says Just. "If we don't go straight to DVD, it's a huge process to transfer a digital signal to DVD. And if you have 13 hours of courses to transfer at the end of a weekend—and everyone wants their media by Tuesday—your time is limited." On a recent trip to InfoComm, Just saw a new generation