- Temple University is a world-class center for teaching, research and health care. As such, it continues to aggressively integrate the latest technologies into its classrooms and labs. In just four years, the university has expanded its number of smart classrooms from 30 percent to more than 55 percent, with plans to further expand this number to 80 percent over the course of the next few years.
"With AMX, the significant technology investments we've made are really paying off. Not only are our control systems extremely reliable, but they're also very easy to use. When our faculty members walk into any classroom on campus and see the touch panel, they immediately know what to do because the AMX user interface is easy and constant."
Standardizing on AMX
- Early on, Temple recognized the significant benefits it could achieve by standardizing on one control platform across its campuses – including ease of use for faculty and increased efficiencies for its IT staff. After weighing its options and real-world experiences with a variety of control manufacturers, the school adopted AMX.
- As Tim O'Rourke, Temple's vice president of computer and information services, explains, "One of the benefits that AMX brought to us was its system design and programming expertise. We knew which technologies we wanted in each room, but we didn't know how to integrate these technologies in a way that would be user friendly. AMX helped us design and integrate our A/V systems in such a way that every faculty member, including those who are not as tech-savvy, can use computers, DVD players, document cameras and flat panel displays to enhance the learning process, which is of course our ultimate goal."
- Over the years, Temple has significantly enhanced the capabilities of its smart classrooms by adopting AMX's MeetingManager software. Today, the university uses the software to manage and monitor the equipment in more than 100 smart classrooms in 14 buildings on three campuses. When equipment malfunctions or a faculty member requests help via the AMX Touch Panel, members of Temple's Classroom Technology Support (CTS) team receive instant e-mail alerts and text pages, which allows them to significantly increase their response time. The team also uses the software to track device usage, enabling them to perform preventative maintenance, such as replacing projector lamps before they burn out, thereby reducing the number of help desk requests they receive.
The TECH Center
- At 75,000 square feet, Temple's TECH (Teaching, Education, Collaboration and Help) Center is the largest computer facility in the country, and the school believes it ranks among the most sophisticated as well. The Center includes 600 fixed work stations; 100 laptops; 13 breakout rooms, which students use for collaboration and group study; specialty labs for video editing, graphic design, music composition and software development; and social space for students with lounge areas and flat screen TVs. It also houses the school's Welcome Center, 24-hour help desk and a full-service Starbucks Café.
- "The TECH Center is a very large facility that integrates many complex technologies, and we clearly needed something to control it. Based on the positive experiences we've had with our smart classrooms, we chose AMX," said O'Rourke.
- "The school installed an AMX Control System in each of its high-end breakout rooms so that students can prepare and/or practice multimedia presentations that utilize a variety of technologies, such as computers, flat panel displays and audio. "The AMX Touch Panels in the breakout rooms are so easy to use, most students can operate the equipment without any help from our staff, which frees them up to more quickly respond to student requests in other parts of the facility," commented O'Rourke.
- An AMX Control System is also used to distribute video, such as cable broadcast, recorded DVDs and multimedia PowerPoint presentations, to the 30 flat-panel displays installed throughout the building. At any given time, a variety of programming – from 24-hour news networks to university communications – is displayed. Temple even developed an application that shows the number of workstations available in each area of the facility, which allows students to find available computers more easily.
Why AMX
- "With AMX, the significant technology investments we've made are really paying off. Not only are our control systems extremely reliable, but they're also very easy to use. When our faculty members walk into any classroom on campus and see the touch panel, they immediately know what to do because the AMX user interface is easy and constant," said O'Rourke. "To sum it up, AMX makes a fantastic product that we've been very pleased with. Based on our many positive experiences, we plan to continue using AMX well into the future."
