Classrooms scheduled for tech upgrades in 2008

Portland State’s Instruction Technology Services Department is updating more than 110 classrooms with new technology services, such as projectors and electronic podiums, in an effort to standardize a high level of technology in both classrooms and departmental offices.

Doug McCartney, director of Instructional Technology Services, said the update is a result of faculty interest in providing an equal level of technology for the entire campus, as opposed to having high-tech equipment in some rooms and not others. High-tech equipment used at PSU includes electronic podiums with audio and visual inputs, large-screen projectors and sound systems throughout the room or lecture hall.

Currently, most classrooms only have mid-level technology, such as a built-in projector and wall panels for sound and video input, said classroom audio-visual services manager Mark Walker. He said that installing high-tech podiums in classrooms across campus will reduce the amount of equipment that must be carted to and from rooms each time it is needed.

“DVD players, VCRs, projectors and whatever else that a class requires isn’t always in the room right now, meaning that professors or tech assistants have to drag whatever piece of equipment a class might need back and forth across campus,” Walker said. “Just having whatever is needed already in a room, for class or departmental purposes, makes much more sense.”

McCartney said the cost of standardizing the classrooms on campus will vary by room, depending on currently existing technology.

For example, he said, a room already outfitted with a projector will cost around $8,000 to update, whereas a room with no technology currently installed would cost closer to $16,000 in order to be considered a high-tech room. McCartney said because the cost of these updates will vary from room to room, formulating a final budget for the project is difficult at this time.

Rooms throughout Shattuck Hall and in PSU’s new recreation center, which are scheduled to re-open and debut in 2008 and 2009, respectively, will be fitted with high-tech podiums before they are made available to students, McCartney said. He also said access to PSU networks, such as student virtual drives and streaming video for lectures, will be emphasized as technology is updated. Student virtual drives are archives systems such as an “H:/ drive” which are used with a student’s Odin account.

“Currently, the Urban Studies Building has video streaming and recording, meaning lectures can be broadcast and even recorded for later viewing,” McCartney said. “And we want to implement that across campus.”

Walker said the update will likely take through 2008 to finish and that lecture halls intended for 70 or more students will see the first of the updates. He said classroom scheduling is another key reason for the update, because there are several courses that require high technology and there is no precise system of determining which course or department takes priority.

“Classes for film students, obviously, can’t make do without visual support, and it’s impossible to say that they deserve a high-tech room more than a computer science or graphic design student,” Walker said. “I guarantee you the scheduling office folks will appreciate having more high-tech rooms that will satisfy teacher demand for up-to-date equipment in their classrooms.”