DELTS wins $25,000 in multimedia equipment

By Heidi Wicks | June 28, 2011

Memorial University’s Distance Education, Learning and Teaching Support’s (DELTS) classroom support team received the AMX Innovation Award at EduComm conference recently in Orlando, Fla. The team at DELTS submitted the redesign plans for an existing 250-seat main lecture theatre in Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine.

The new theatre will contain state-of-the-art, multimedia rich equipment that will ensure an engaging and innovative environment for professors and students.

AMX manufactures equipment to create and enhance technology-friendly classrooms on environmentally friendly campuses. DELTS has been using AMX automation and control systems for more than 15 years, and when the Faculty of Medicine approached the unit to redesign their main lecture theatre, the challenge was to replace older analog equipment with newer, more complex and advanced 16x10 digital technology.

Ed Hipditch, manager of classroom technology, and electronic technologist Todd Constantine accepted the award on behalf of DELTS. Mr. Hipditch said the lecture theatre’s makeover will allow futuristic yet simplistic lecture presentations.

“The new equipment allows the flexibility for a complex multimedia room, but one that’s user-friendly to instructors,” he said. “When they realize how seamless it is, they’ll want to use the equipment to enrich their teaching. It’s complex to install, but easy to use.”

The two new 16x10 foot screens -- the largest on campus -- and a wireless touch tablet similar to an iPad will allow instructors to run presentations using various types of digital and analog multimedia equipment. The wireless panel will allow presenters to move seamlessly between mediums to show different aspects of their lecture.
 
“It means that an instructor can run something that’s on one laptop at the same time a video is playing. There’s a wired and wireless tablet, so they can move about the room to run the presentation, if they wish,” said Mr. Hipditch. “You can do pretty much anything with this equipment, even turn the lights up and down, control volume – it’s cutting edge.”

He added that the service aspect of their work doesn’t stray after the redesign is complete.

"As always, we’ll be available for complex productions in the booth if anyone feels they need support.”

DELTS’ classroom support division has redesigned and refurbished more than 200 classrooms, boardrooms and seminar rooms across campus. The unit is also responsible for multimedia maintenance in these rooms.

Whether it’s a classroom with 30 seats and a Smartboard or a large-scale lecture theatre with 300 seats and all the bells and whistles, classroom support at DELTS has serviced units from the Faculty of Medicine and the Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing to Spencer Hall, Queen’s College and the Department of History.

Associate Director Rob Wells is delighted that classroom support is being recognized for their constant dedication to their work across campus.

"The opportunity for DELTS to work creatively with faculties and schools at Memorial to create learning spaces that provide memorable learning experiences is central to who we are in the unit,” he said. “A partnership with the Faculty of Medicine is evidence of the talent at DELTS.”

As a result of this most recent win for DELTS, the unit has received a $25,000 credit for AMX equipment, which will be used to expand the facilities within Memorial and to continue the development of state-of-the-art learning spaces. Memorial will also be featured in the September issue of University Business magazine.

For more information about EduComm, visit http://www.educommconference.com/.

For more information on the AMX Innovation Award, visit http://www.amx.com/aboutamx/awards.asp.


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