E-mail This Article | Print It

by Tiffany Derville

Thanks to the Student Technology Fee and funding from the Teaching Facilities Committee (TFC), more students will have access to newly equipped technology classrooms or rooms with upgraded technology than last fall.

Six new Technology Classrooms have been installed and 22 existing Technology Classrooms have received upgrades over the summer. New rooms received a full AV system including a high resolution LCD projector, VCR/DVD player, stereo program audio system, instructor computer, input panel, an instructor desk with pull-out shelf, and a media control system that provides an easy-to-use interface for controlling all the equipment. Upgrades include replacing the control systems and video projector as well as installing an instructor computer and a DVD player. “Old equipment is usually replaced because it is so old that the parts are no longer made to fix it or the quality is so poor that it is best used as a doorstop,” quipped TFC member Sue Clabaugh. The occasional equipment that can still be of use is given to departments or used as spares or replacements.

Typically, one to two rooms receive technology or are upgraded each year. By contrast, 22 rooms have received upgrades and six rooms have received new equipment this summer. The new rooms were funded by the TFC and the upgrades were funded by the Student Technology Fee, which is allocated by a committee of seven undergraduate students and two faculty members.

“I have definitely noticed a difference in my classes since the upgrade. My professor has been able to show documentaries on DVD to expand on the material we read for class,” said Liz Huntley, senior Government and Politics and Communication major. “It’s a refreshing change of pace and helps us all stay engaged.”

OIT has made the upgrades easier for faculty members by standardizing the touch screen that controls the technology. Consequently, even though the equipment is upgraded, the user interface will remain the same.

To be eligible for technology installations or upgrades funded by the Student Technology Fee and the TFC, the room must be a general purpose classroom that the university-wide Scheduling Office coordinates, as opposed to a room that a department owns and schedules. In addition, a department needs to provide basic staffing to assist faculty using the technology as well as to troubleshoot basic problems and do simple maintenance, such as replace batteries and lamps.

Engineering classrooms that received built-in technological capabilities include rooms 0108, 1104, and 1108. Jimenez rooms that have been technologically transformed include 2206, 3120, and 3205.

Classrooms that benefited from upgrades include 16 Plant Sciences rooms, Art-Sociology 2203 and 2209, Computer and Space Sciences 2400, H. J. Patterson 0226, J. M. Patterson 3201, and Marie Mount 1400.

For information about Technology Classrooms, visit www.oit.umd.edu/units/as/tc.

Open a New Window to Rate This Article