Account Background

Alvernia University is a liberal-arts focused institution with nearly 75 undergraduate and graduate academic programs, all centered on the Franciscan core values instilled by its Founders. With a 121-acre campus in Berks County Pennsylvania and two satellite centers in Philadelphia and Pottsville (Schuylkill County), Alvernia relies heavily on technology to facilitate teaching and learning, connecting students to professors and many outside educational resources that otherwise would not be accessible. 

Challenge

Alvernia’s ideal solution to improve productivity and efficiency included upgrades to an already-strong foundation of instructional technologies. Goals for the upgrades included:

• Connect multiple remote endpoints easily and reliably
• Synchronize content, video, and voice
• Actively involve students in videoconferencing
• Provide post-production editing and publishing
• Increase functionality and maintain ease-of-use 

Solution

Alvernia’s vision for the media center came to fruition with the help of IMS Audio Visual’s design/build systems integration expertise. The following summarizes the equipment and systems that meet these challenges:

• Lecture Hall: Multipoint Videoconferencing with 2 PTZ cameras, Push-to-Talk microphones, digital/analog matrix switching, triple projection, annotation
• Video Studio and Control Room: HD production camera, teleprompter and confidence monitor, green screen, TriCaster live production system, integrated controls
• Two interactive classrooms: multi-touch interactive whiteboard, document camera, voice lift, integrated audio and touch panel controls 

Result

Distance Learning, both synchronous and asynchronous, is stronger than ever at Alvernia. Professors, guest speakers and presenters of all levels of technical sophistication can comfortably deliver and share the content of their presentations with great flexibility, while simultaneously communicating with internal and external resources as naturally as a face to face conversation. Students actively learn in a more interactive, immersive, and engaging way in which participation is encouraged. 

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