From: Subject: Classroom Support at UNCC Goes Both Ways Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:49:59 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C7C493.EB75F000" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3138 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C7C493.EB75F000 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://campustechnology.com/articles/48936/ =EF=BB=BF Classroom Support at UNCC Goes Both = Ways

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Case Study

Classroom Support at UNCC Goes Both Ways

7/5/2007

A simple two-way digital = intercom=20 system installed in classrooms at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has = greatly reduced=20 the support department's response time. And although it hasn't been used = for an=20 emergency yet, the intercom system can also serve to instantly broadcast = a=20 single message to all or some classrooms at once.

UNC Charlotte, = with=20 20,000 students, 1,400 faculty, and 74 buildings, is located on a = sprawling=20 campus of some 1,000 acres. Increased use of technology such as = computers and=20 projectors in the classroom was resulting in increased reports of = technical=20 problems by instructors. The support department, in turn, was struggling = to=20 respond in a timely fashion, sometimes leading to class cancellations = because of=20 malfunctioning equipment. Also, descriptions by instructors after the = fact often=20 weren't sufficient to pinpoint the problem.

The university = previously=20 used a one-way intercom system to allow problem reporting, but one-way = reports=20 from instructors weren't sufficient to describe problems, and a = technician could=20 be dispatched without the appropriate equipment.

UNCC eventually = selected an inexpensive, scalable, easy to install IP-based solution = from Digital = Acoustics=20 called the ii3 Internet Protocol (IP) Intercom. "It's immediate, two-way = communication with users," said Steve Clark, director of classroom = support at=20 the university. "It works flawlessly, [and] allows us to take care of 90 = to 95=20 percent of [support] calls without leaving the office=E2=80=A6 We can = respond to any=20 help request in 10 minutes."

The Office of Classroom Support = supports=20 the entire campus using just Clark, one technician, and 10 student = assistants.=20 The farthest building supported is just over a mile away; Clark and his = staff=20 use a small cargo van to reach outlying buildings = quickly.

Clark's office=20 initially installed 100 of the Digital Acoustics intercoms in classrooms = across=20 campus; they've now increased coverage to 240 classrooms. The system, = which=20 works like a standard push to talk intercom system, is connected to = UNCC's=20 existing wire-based local and wide-area networks. Using standard TCP/IP = network=20 audio protocols, the intercoms provide instant two-way communication = between an=20 instructor and the campus helpdesk.

The=20 intercom system could also prove useful in an emergency. After an = on-campus=20 emergency 18 months ago, Clark said, UNCC added a loud siren and a = device atop=20 the library that officials can use for broadcasts. UNCC also has a plan = in place=20 to use voicemail, email and web page postings as appropriate to keep = students,=20 faculty, and staff updated during an emergency.

After the = Virginia Tech=20 shooting in April, Clark suggested to administrators that the intercom = system be=20 added to the emergency alert plan as well. Announcements over the = intercom are=20 "a finishing touch" to the plan, he said--and a useful one, since Clark = pointed=20 out that at any given moment, most constituents on a college campus tend = to be=20 in class. From the central console, announcements can be sent to the = entire=20 campus over the intercom or selectively targeted. The intercom can also = be used=20 from the classroom, to request assistance. "We're working on a smooth = handoff=20 for medical emergencies," Clark said.

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