Innovation across the campus: presentation technology is big news on campuses using it to better educate the lawyers of tomorrow, regional workforces, and even instructors themselves.

There's a new Level of sophistication in the use of presentation systems on campus--and it's not driven solely by the hot new display technologies themselves, but by educational and administrative vision. With the marriage of campus information technology and audiovisual departments, some schools have spawned innovative presentation setups and programs that truly enhance the level of learning, and take it beyond basic display mode. Laptops, DVDs, projectors and screens, document cameras, and interactive whiteboards are all brought together to create a rich and dimensional learning experience; advanced control panels, specially architected podia, and even 24/7 technical support are put into place to further enhance the initiative.

LOYOLA LAW: Making a Case for Presentation Technology

Faculty and administrators at Loyola Law School (CA) are no strangers to presenting a case, so they had little trouble making a strong argument for presentation technology four years back, in 1999. It was then that planners and administrators at the law school (located in Los Angeles, 15 miles from Loyola's main campus) knew they had to make their classrooms more like the modern courtrooms in which their students would eventually practice. The school's field research had been turning up courtrooms replete with projectors, screens, and document cameras, explains Dan Weiss, Loyola Law's associate director of Instructional Technology.

"We had to find presentation technology that mimics technology in the courtroom," he explains.

Display. The result of their efforts is Loyola's Girardi Trial. Advocacy Center, which opened in 2002 and provides students with a truly high-tech approach t law instruction. The center is home to the Robinson Courtroom, the Largest instructional room in the facility, which feature two large, 90-inch rear-projection screen connected to a document camera. The setup is used to review documents and evidence that only a document camera could display. But the two screens, which are situated on opposite sides of the courtroom and installed high enough for unobstructed view, can present other instructional media as well. An interactive electronic whiteboard in the room displays Web pages, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and other materials on which instructors and students can make notations and highlights--all of which can be broadcast to the projection screens.

"Super" podium. Still, many classrooms--legal or otherwise--have projectors, screens, and electronic whiteboards says Weiss. It is advanced technology enabled by a built-to-order "super" podium that makes the Robinson Courtroom the most advanced multimedia classroom on campus, Via the special architect-designed podium, students stand before the court with a laptop, DVD, VCR, document camera and cassette player all at their fingertips. All of the devices, in fact, are built into or connected to the podium and are controlled by an AMX (www.amx.com) panel Students face either judge or jury with veritable array of multimedia tools designed to help them make their case. What's more, with the podium's touch-sensitive control screen, students can make notes and circle key elements within the evidence they are putting forth.

In actual courtrooms, attorneys must request permission to display such materials to the jury. So, built into the control panel are two types of display modes: a "local" one for showing material to the judge only (usually as a means to achieve a ruling on the evidence in question), and a "class" mode that allows the material (once approved) to be presented on display screens. The local and class displays also allow presenters to cue up new material while the rest of the class is looking at a display.

The podium's initial design featured cables that allowed it to be disconnected and turned, depending upon whether a student faced the judge or the jury. Interestingly, frequent requests to move the podium have made this design impractical, says Weiss. An improved design--to be completed this summer--will allow the podium to swivel without having to disconnect the cables.

Videoconferencing, and audio/video capability. The Robinson Courtroom also boasts a small Polycom (polycom.com/home) videoconferencing system, which allows the student presentations to be broadcast to studio rooms on another floor. This permits students and instructors in another part of the building to participate in video-conferencing with colleagues in the Robinson Courtroom. In addition, five small studios with playback capability on the third floor allow students to review their courtroom performance.

"Much of being a lawyer is based on how you present yourself," explains Weiss. The intimate studio settings allow students to study and analyze their courtroom persona via Sony Trinitron TVs. In addition to seeing court performances, students can view themselves handling such out-of-courtroom basics as counseling clients, mediation sessions, and negotiations. All legal lectures are captured on digital audio equipment, and posted on the Internet. Students can play them back on Real Player, a common Internet app that can be downloaded free.

Conquering the lost holdouts. Other classrooms in the Girardi Trial Advocacy Center are used for Lectures, says Weiss, who adds that all of the rooms feature projectors and document cameras, and outlets that allow students to plug in laptops for notetaking. Here, though, the projectors are ceiling mounted.

Most important, says Weiss, Loyola's setup will help to push the legal profession into the 21st century of technical advances--no easy task for a profession known for its ultra-conservative leanings. When it comes to technology, he jokes, "Lawyers are the last holdouts. Some would still be wearing wigs and cloaks if left to their own devices." If it's up to Loyola Law, legal holdouts will be a vanishing breed.

MIAMI-DADE COLLEGE: Training the Workforce

Miami-Dade College (FL) has certainly taken on a sizable mission--that of assisting the area's Internet companies in filling an estimated 10,000 information technology jobs. According to Wasim Shomar, president of Miami-Dade's Kendall campus, Miami is central to Florida's "Internet Coast" and is the hub for Internet traffic to South America and Africa. So, given that the main headquarters for this Internet traffic is just blocks away from the school's Wolfson campus, the campus Shomar used to manage, Miami-Dade applied for, and received, state grant money to build a $7.9 million facility and equip it with technology for teaching. The school's educators then wasted no time outfitting the Emerging Technologies Center for the Americas (ETCOTA) with laptops and other computer equipment and software that is linked to projectors, document cameras, video cameras, and Crestron (www.crestron.com) presentation system consoles. The entire facility is built for onsite demonstrations, as well as for distance learning, explains Jon Sussman, director of Industry Relations for ETCOTA Robotic video cameras capture instruction for distance learning; lectures and demonstrations are available through a Web-based system. Currently, students at other Miami-Dade campuses are benefiting from the distance ed technology, but plans are to add an international distance ed component in September for new Miami-Dade online students in Argentina and the Dominican Republic.

"We designed the building to house the most appropriate form of presentation materials," Sussman says. In addition. ETCOTA has a secure 802.11 wireless network that allows instructors to operate laptops and presentation equipment without complicated cords and hookups.

Workstations and expanded resources in classrooms. In each of the facility's 19 classrooms, a ceiling-mounted projector is connected to an AM hub that doubles as the professor's workstation. These Crestron workstations feature a "one-touch" system, allowing a professor to select for teaching purposes a document camera, DVD, VCR, laptop, or other peripheral. But the console is also programmed to access the community college's video library, putting even more digital resources at instructors' fingertips. Images and presentations are viewed on 100-inch projector screens. Each of me classrooms can accommodate a minimum of 27 computers. Although most are Dell PCs, one room in the facility is outfitted with Macintoshes.

Auditorium and conference capability. ETCOTA's 120-seat auditorium also is equipped with general-use presentation technology (including a plasma screen for viewing) chat is used to train young students in entry-level computer science and programming. This site, and a conference room, are also used for the professional development of employees at the 3,000 or so information technology companies that are part of the Internet Coast, and to assist in the hosting of special events for the community. Last fall, for instance, ETCOTA was the site of the countywide Technology Access Conference that provided a forum for churches and community centers (often the only points of digital access to the poor) to address the digital divide. More recently, ETCOTA was the venue for a Women in Technology seminar which brought key technology leaders together with high school and college students.

Sussman and others envision ETCOTA as a nexus for corporate technology leaders and new students. As companies turn to ETCOTA for certified Microsoft and Cisco training, and other professional development needs, they, in turn, will provide internships and field trip opportunities for students, says Sussman.

The consistent goal? To ready the workforce to meet expanding IT needs, he declares. To that end, he adds, presentation technology has proved to be essential.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-FLINT:

Instructing the Instructors

At the University of Michigan-Flint, presentation technology is enjoying new status--and all because of the William S. White Building, a new, five-story structure that's home to the Schools of Management, Urban Health, and several other professional disciplines. It is here that physical therapy students, for instance, not only read about but actually listen to problematic heart rates. Thanks to simulation software and presentation technology, these students receive as close to a "real world" experience as is possible in a classroom.

Hands-on learning, state-of-the-art style. Such was the vision for the academic center, which opened in June 2002. Each of the 64 general classrooms is a state-of-the-art learning center outfitted with overhead projector, projection screen, TV and VCR, notes Harvey Sherman, senior computer systems consultant. These key components, he says, are housed in multimedia cabinets purchased from Smart Technologies (www.smarttech.com). At the press of a button installed in each cabinet, instructors can cycle through numerous presentation options: wireless PC, DVD (which is housed in the PC), VCR, and TV monitor.

Marrying IT to A/V. As a matter of fact, for someone who once described himself as a "network guy," Sherman now has a much bigger job--and a much broader vision of IT and A/V. His function is now the bridge between instructors and the myriad technological possibilities. Understandably, Sherman's job as that "bridge" was a hard one, at first. Instructors were anxious about using presentation technology. Prior to 2000, the only projectors available at U Michigan-Flint were outdated, making ease of use unpredictable. Furthermore, all were portable and stored on carts that had to be schlepped from classroom to classroom. The clunky logistics often made for late class starts, as professors and assistants fumbled with the equipment.

But all of that changed when the White Building was completed, and A/V was moved under Sherman's domain. Since then, Sherman has been focused, he says, on marrying IT concepts to audio/ visual potential, and he's done this in a number of ways. One vital tool is his Web site, which is designed specifically for the instructors and which includes a complete list of classrooms, the A/V and IT equipment in each, and full seating and equipment maps.

Training the teachers. "I'm trying to provide a vision so that instructors can 'see' the room in which they will be teaching," Sherman says. And although Sherman provides presentation systems training, he knows professors need follow-up. Those who need to can look up operating instructions for every piece of equipment available. To further the effort, Sherman and his staff (two full-time employees and four student helpers) give one-on-one or small-group instruction to any instructor who asks for it.

Committing to an SLA. Topping off the impressive training effort is a service level agreement (SLA) any school would be proud of. First, there's 24/7 support to instructors. Instructors can direct questions to Sherman's staff at any time, and they can call on the support team during class time, for super-prompt handling of system glitches. Sherman's team has promised that all classroom calls will be answered within five minutes, so as not to unduly interrupt or delay instruction.

Sheman's next goal: to further strengthen the bond between IT and A/V. Presentation technology has given instructors and students new tools, he notes. His mission is to keep improving upon them.

LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL

Presentation at a Glance

Equipment installed:

Electronics whiteboards--Smart Technology (www.smarttech.com)

Projectors--NEC (www.nec.com), Sharp (www.sharp-usa.com)

Document cameras--Samsung (www.samsung.com)

Control panel--AMX (www.amx.com)

Videoconferencing system--Polycom (polycom.com/home)

Total presentation technology investment: $1.5 million

The crown jewel of Loyola's Robinson Courtroom, left, is a custom-designed podium, top an far left. Evidence is presented via a touchscreen that controls all multimedia elements.

MIAMI-DADE COLLEGE

Presentation at a Glance

Equipment installed:

Projectors--Sony (www.sony.com), Epson (www.epson.com)

Video cameras--Sony (www.sony.com)

Plasma screen--NEC (www.nec.com)

Console--Crestron (www.crestron.com)

Document cameras--Samsung (www.samsung.com)

Total presentation technology investment: $540,000

Projectors mounted in in the auditorium and classrooms of Miami Dade's ETCOTA Center are an integral part of the instruction process, above right. Below, Professor Victor Giol uses a projected image to teach a microcomputing class.

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: Bringing Presentation Alive with Multimedia

Once professors and administrators are sold on the power of presentation technology, the next task is creating multimedia instructional content for higher ed presentation. At Wesleyan University (CT) a cross-functional team (composed of graphic designer/animator/illustrator and Java programmer) has created Learning Objects (learningobjects.wesleyan.edu), a program that actually functions as a multimedia studio for its faculty. The program is in its first year.

"The thinking is that the Web and desktop computing are integral to the education process," says Mike Roy, director of Academic Computing Services at Wesleyan. But in order to realize the potential of that concept, says Roy, the university needed multimedia materials in place. "It's not enough to have instructors on desktops, or to have [Internet] access in the dorms. We want to take A/V material. and show it in new ways."

Learning Objects has already created video clips that explain Long Island Sound and its ocean tides, the human neuromuscular structure, and spectrum wavelengths and light absorption. "We have a development staff that works with the faculty," explains Roy. The instructor acts as a "director," facilitating the content end providing the vision for the finished product, which two of Roy's IT staffers produce.

The program is funded by $150,000 in grants (some monies coming from the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education [www.nitle.org]), with the goal of creating materials that can be easily shared with other IHEs. Roy's vision is that other schools will eventually collaborate in the creation process and will help find clips already produced in the mainstream that can be repurposed for learning.--JMA

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-FLINT

Presentation at a Glance

Equipment installed:

Projectors--Sharp (www.sharp-usa.com)

Screens--Da-Lite (www.da-lite.com)

Console--Smart Technologies (www.smarttech.com)

Total presentation technology investment:

$605,000