TechManagers Guide to Huddle Rooms

The Technology Manager’s guide To huddle rooMs

4�Small, But Significant: When it comeS to aV SyStemS, one Size doeS not fit all, eVen for Smaller huddle roomS.

4�creatiVe conferencing: intimate, flexiBle collaBoration haS people huddling up. here’S What’S neW in the huddle category.

4�collaBoration aV SyStemS in the age of Byod: Sharing iS caring, But it’S not aS eaSy aS it SoundS.

4�actiVe learning in the artS: northern arizona uniVerSity’S collaBoratiVe claSSroom giVeS StudentS an important Voice in inStruction.

4�When collaBoration influenceS BehaVior in education: the Strategy for diScoVery at the princeton academy of the Sacred heart.

from the editors of

Featuring:

sponsored by

To Huddle or NoT To Huddle?Huddle room systems promise to save install hours, dollars, and cable wrangling in the small meeting room or conference room. Promoters of huddle rooms believe that they fit a major hole in the market—especially for businesses with modest budgets, universities with dozens of small break rooms, or hospitals with limited wireless coverage. But are they the best system for you, your facility, and your organization’s users? If you have a room with multiple lecterns rather than tables, should you proceed to huddle? We tapped industry experts like Pete Putnam and Mike Brandes, CTS, to weigh in BYOD, collaboration technology, and the popular product trend that seems to be huddling up all around us.

Editor’s Note ...........................................................................................................................................................................A2

FEATURES

CREATivE CoNFERENCiNg: iNTimATE, FlExiblE CollAboRATioN hAS pEoplE hUddliNg Up. hERE’S whAT’S NEw iN

ThE hUddlE CATEgoRy. ........................................................................................................................................................A4

CollAboRATioN Av SySTEmS iN ThE AgE oF byod: ShARiNg iS CARiNg, bUT iT’S NoT AS EASy AS iT SoUNdS. ............ A10

SmAll, bUT SigNiFiCANT: whEN iT ComES To Av SySTEmS, oNE SizE doES NoT FiT All, EvEN FoR SmAllER hUddlE

RoomS. ................................................................................................................................................................................. A12

ACTivE lEARNiNg iN ThE ARTS: NoRThERN ARizoNA UNivERSiTy’S CollAboRATivE ClASSRoom givES STUdENTS AN

impoRTANT voiCE iN iNSTRUCTioN. ................................................................................................................................... A14

whEN CollAboRATioN iNFlUENCES bEhAvioR iN EdUCATioN: ThE STRATEgy FoR diSCovERy AT ThE pRiNCEToN

ACAdEmy oF ThE SACREd hEART. ....................................................................................................................................... A16

[margot douaihy, editor, AV Technology]

Editor’s Note

Table of Contents

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huddle rooms

Star Trek fans will recall that in practically every episode (and practically every version of the franchise), there’s a scene in the observation lounge. The Borg appear in the not-so-far distance, and the captain and senior members of the crew need to come up with an action plan—and quick!—before they’re assimilated. And so off to the obser-vation lounge they march, where they share data, call up visuals, and collaborate on their action plan. The space is small, but it’s equipped with everything they need to make informed decisions.

Sound familiar? While some (the author included) are hesitant to openly admit to Star Trek fandom, you don’t have to (even secretly) watch the series to draw the parallel: real-life huddle rooms are like Star Trek observation lounges. And, thanks to their immediacy (in many organizations, there are several, eliminating the need to book them), intimacy (you can work side-by-side with key members of a team without having to worry about the formality required for larger meetings), and flexibility (once again, you can walk in anytime, to collaborate on anything), they’re growing in popularity. While just a little while ago there were only a couple of solutions that enabled people to huddle up, this year the offerings have shot into the double digits. Here are some of the new, the notable, and the notorious:

AMX Enzo & SErAnoAMX approaches huddle room connectivity a little differently than the rest of the industry, and hopes to lead the pack in collaborative huddle space technology. AMX’s Enzo offers users the ability to connect wirelessly, or access files from a num-ber of cloud storage providers (e.g., Google Drive, DropBox, etc.).

“Enzo also has the capability to add video to any web conferencing meeting, thanks to the addition of the Sereno cam-era to the AMX product line, this device interfaces directly with the Enzo to provide quality audio as well as video for all online meetings,” said S. Kyle Davis, techni-cal marketing specialist for AMX. This small, all-in-one solution packs a powerful punch, and with a MSRP of $1,995 for the Enzo (Sereno lists for $250), it could be the ideal olution for cash-strapped companies wanting to maximize efficiency with huddle room technology.

Introduced last year, the Enzo Content Sharing and Conferencing Platform

is designed to give users “choices in how they want to present and share content in meetings”—namely the ability to access data from the cloud, the Internet or a USB drive. The company announced several new features at InfoComm this past June, including the addition of instant screen mirroring from laptops and mobile devices. AMX will also be providing upcoming support for Web conferencing (via its Sereno Video Conferencing Camera, which debuted in 2014), as well as a more simplified process for launching Enzo sessions from a touch panel or keypad.

BArco clickShArEBarco launched its collaboration solution, ClickShare, in 2012, enabling up to four meeting attend-ees to simultaneously share infor-mation on a large display. A stan-dard configuration features four USB devices (“ClickShare Buttons,” which connect to PCs or Macs), the “ClickShare Tray” (a storage basket designed for when the Buttons are not in use); and a Base Unit, which connects to the space’s AV system and performs all of the processing. Earlier this year, Barco unveiled the CSM Base Unit, which is compatible with both the ClickShare Button as well as free apps for iOS and Android. A standard set is comprised of one CSM Base Unit and two ClickShare Buttons; only one user may display images at a time, however, eight Buttons can be wirelessly connected to the base unit so that those users are ready to share at, well, the quick click of a button.

chriStiE Brio tEAMChristie announced an addition to its Brio family of collaboration solutions at InfoComm 2014, the Christie Brio Team. Designed for smaller meeting spaces, the prod-uct supports wireless connection of up to five computers, smartphones and tablets, enabling information-sharing on a larger display while streaming audio through the room’s sound system. No LAN access is required, nor are any additional apps or external dongles needed. Users can annotate over live content or use the touchscreen as a whiteboard and save the results for future reference.

Creative Conferencing Intimate, flexible collaboration has people huddling up. Here’s what’s new in the category.By Carolyn Heinze

Infinite Ways to Collaborate

© 2014 Kramer Electronics, Ltd. All Rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

N O W T H E R E ’ S A W A Y T O M E E T S M A R T E R

Introducing the VIA Collage, the meeting tool that allows you to connect, collaborate, and engage at the

click of a button. VIA Collage is a shared workspace for team collaboration that lets you connect wirelessly,

collaborate easily, and engage everyone in the room in the work you’re doing. It provides a common

platform for all those laptops, smartphones, and tablets in real time on one digital canvas. Your group

work gets done on the spot.

Ideal for smaller huddle spaces, Kramer brings you the

cost-effective VIA Connect Hub. Wireless presentation

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huddle rooms

Crestron ConneCt It and aIrMedIa“Crestron recognizes the need to be able to support all sources, including mobile devices and laptops, so users can get their content on the display regardless of the device it’s on,” said Tom Barnett, director of marketing communications for the New Jersey based manufacturer. The Crestron Connect It solution allows for mul-tiple devices to be connected and selected with the push of the button, complete with LED feedback. Crestron AirMedia enables presenters to connect wirelessly and share content from mobile devices, as well as wirelessly mirror laptops, sim-plifying the already simple plug-and-play strategy. AirMedia has users present-ing HD content from their laptops and mobile devices. AirMedia connects via Ethernet to the LAN, and no additional software or control is necessary. For its related DigitalMedia AV distribution system, Crestron recently introduced its 4K Certification Program in an effort to help integrators and end-users make a smooth transition to the new format.

da-LIte VIewsharePositioned to bridge the gap between expen-sive, high-end videoconferencing systems and consumer-level solutions, Da-Lite’s ViewShare conferencing system features an HD video cam-era that is incorporated into the weight bar of the company’s Tensioned Advantage Electrol projection screen, a tabletop speaker, as well as a microphone. Users connect their computers via USB. Want to use what you’ve already got? A ret-rofit model is available that updates the manu-facturer’s older Advantage Projection Screens, converting them into an HD surface.

extron teaMworkSupporting four to six users respectively, Extron’s TeamWork 400 and 600 supports laptops and mobile devices connected via an HDMI “Show Me” cable. Users share their information simply by pressing the “share” button, and the system automati-cally turns off when the meeting is over. The entire system is made up of the HDMI cables, a switcher, a system controller, a “Cable Cubby” enclosure with four AC outlets, and various other system cables. An optional TeamWork VGA Kit supports legacy analog computer sources.

Extron Electronics says that this system is ideal for collaborative study rooms, or similar huddle spaces, on university campuses because the cables can’t be removed, stolen or lost. Extron’s Joe da Silva, director of product marketing, notes the importance of stable, wired connections: “Mobile device proliferation is rapidly driving huddle room technology toward wireless connectivity, but the bandwidth demands for high resolution computer mirroring and 4K video will continue to make wired connectivity a requirement for the next few years.”

VaddIo huddLestatIonVaddio addresses huddle rooms outright with HuddleSTATION, which incor-porates a camera with a sound bar, loudspeakers, microphones, and a control dock to let users collaborate via their PCs. Connection is via USB, transforming HuddleSTATION into the “I/O for whatever application that the user desires,

from Google Hangout to Skype, PowerPoint or WebEx.” In conjunction with HuddleSTATION Vaddio offers the WideSHOT HD fixed camera, featuring an 82-degree field of view designed to make sure you capture everything you need to see in a small space. The camera comes in two different models: the WideSHOT WallVIEW SR or the WideSHOT WallVIEW USB.

VaddIo GroupstatIonIt’s notable that one of the pioneers of huddle room spaces isn’t a switching or con-trol company, per se. Vaddio, a camera and camera control manufacturer dedicated to “The Art of Easy,” developed a line of products to enable users to connect and present within a huddle room, but also to add capabilities for video conferencing through cloud-based services. Hailey Klein, Vaddio’s marketing communications manager, points out how easy it is to use the system: “All you have to do is connect your device via USB, HDMI or VGA, and you’re ready for your meeting. No drivers are needed, and you can use any application you feel comfortable with.” Vaddio offers a variety of products in the “AppSTATION” line for huddle rooms of different sizes, making it an incredible solution for organizations who need to include web conferencing in their “huddles.’

wow VIsIon CoLLab8WOW Vision enables BYOD collabo-ration with its Collab8 offering, fea-turing multi-display presentation and interactive touch capabilities, with a maximum number of 12 participants in dual display mode. (Up to six users may simultaneously collaborate on a single Collab8 screen.) Participants may call up the main display content on their own devices, take screen shots, and make notes and save them inde-pendently of the main presentation. Interactive whiteboard functionality allows users to annotate, review, edit, illustrate, or highlight on the digital canvas, and then share the revised data with other participants. Users can share files with their fellow participants or display them on the main display by dragging the file over a cloud icon.

kraMer VIa CoLLaGeKramer, which recently acquired 50 percent of WOW Vision, has introduced its VIA Collage system, which enables up to six participants to wirelessly share con-tent on a main display (with the possibility to expanding to 12 participants and two displays) using their laptops and mobile devices. VIA Collage allows multiple

users to annotate, edit, and highlight images on the main screen with their own devices. VIA Connect, Kramer’s wire-less presentation hub, provides

connection and sharing of a large screen by several users. Like VIA Collage, it sup-ports laptops and mobile devices, and enables simultaneous sharing by multiple users, or individual presentation. The VIA Collage solves BYOD challenges and allows for the effective integration of PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, allow-ing users to wirelessly collaborate in any meeting. The VIA Collage also allows for

Designed by Herman Miller, this space shows the application of what they define as the “Living Office.” In huddle areas next to independent “heads-down” desks, associates from the field or other departments can quickly meet & share.


huddle rooms

video streaming and the main unit even has an HDMI input to allow the integra-tion of an external video source to a meeting. Up to six presenters’ screens can be displayed on a single display device and up to 12 can be shown simultaneously when two display devices are used. The VIA Collage also supports third party appli-cations such as Skype, Go To Meeting, Lync, WebEx and more.

FSR HuddleVu & FSR duGOuTJust like its name suggests, FSR’s HuddleVu is the company’s way of getting people huddling up. The system allows multiple users to see and share the content on their laptops and mobile devices on a main screen, and any participant can be either a presenter or a member of the “audience” at any given time. LEDs signal which user is currently live, or when the system is busy. No software or programming is required, and set-ups with four inputs or less can be controlled by an external system. With education and corporate clients moving toward pre-packaged, scalable solutions the more flexible these systems can be with regard to space, users, time and connectivity the better, Gina Sansivero, director of educational sales for FSR Inc., points out. HuddleVu allows users to simply plug in a device and press the corresponding button. All cables, power, and buttons are housed inside a durable steel table box.

MeRSiVe SOlSTice 2.0Mersive recently introduced the next-gen of its collaboration software, Solstice, which allows instant wireless connection of laptops and mobile devices for display control, content sharing, and collaboration. The developer underlines that Solstice is a pure software solution, running on a standard Windows com-puter on an existing WiFi or Ethernet network, and supports Windows, Apple, and Android devices. The system offers centralized management via an IT dashboard. ReVOlabS FlX uc 500Looking at a different element of huddle room technology, check out Revolabs FLX UC 500. The kit provides echo can-cellation for all of its microphones “in the box,” so no additional processing is required on the PC for a quality audio sig-nal. The FLX UC 500 supports full duplex audio at all times, allowing for audio play back and audio capture simultaneously. Benefits include: improved PC communication application performance for meet-ings and online collaboration; Tweeter and midwoofer speaker elements for audio quality, clarity, and volume; and four corner microphones provide full 360-degree coverage of audio capture.

epSOn bRiGHTlink pRO 1430WiThe BrightLink Pro 1430Wi from Epson can transform whiteboards, plain walls, or tables into interactive spaces for increased collaboration and immersive learning. Delivering features for meeting room effi-ciency and productivity, the 1430Wi offers whiteboard sharing mode to connect and display from multiple devices, finger

touch annotation capabilities, and improved email functionality, such as address book access and up to 10 recipients, for increased productivity. The BrightLink Pro 1430Wi works like an appliance; users can turn the projector on and start writing with no PC required. Unlike traditional whiteboards, users can add up to 50 blank pages for virtually unlimited writing space, as well as save, print and email notes. The BrightLink Pro 1430Wi supports gestures, up to six fingers for annotations, as well as dual-pen support. It also offers easy-to-use videoconferencing capabilities, PC- and software-free capabilities, and support for Chromebooks.

THe ciScO TelepReSence SX10 Quick SeT The Cisco TelePresence SX10 Quick Set is a video collaboration set-top solution offering business-quality video commu-nications for small team or huddle room meetings. Designed for simplicity, Cisco says that the SX10 is so easy to install and use that users can just connect it to a screen and speakers, register to the net-work, and be on their first call in just a few minutes. The SX10 is affordably priced for SMB/emerging market adoption or for scaling throughout the enterprise. The SX10 is designed for easy installation and use, and fits perfectly in small meeting rooms or huddle spaces.

kRaMeR’S k-TOucH cOnTROl SOluTiOn The K-Touch system is a simple to use, customiz-able control system that gives users all of the right features to control pro AV systems. Control is done from the mobile device that users are comfortable with using every day—ideal for huddle room systems. Kramer’s line of K-Touch compatible con-trollers provides IR, RS-232, IP, Relay, RS-485, and GPI/O control. Price-wise, K-Touch fits into applications where users were previously forced to use push button control interfaces. K-Touch is also a scalable control sys-tem, with the ability to start small and grow into an advanced level control system without having to swap out controllers or infrastructures. The K-Touch admin and screen builder programs are online cloud based systems.

VideO FuRniTuRe inT’l’S cOllabORaTiOn pORTFOliOVideo Furniture International offers a diverse portfolio of huddle room and collaboration tables, including the T324 T3. The package consists of table T324 + CR3000EX + PM-S-XL or PM-DTV mount + PM-CVR cosmetic cover for the base. Minimum room size 12’-0” x 11’-6’. Designed primarily for huddle rooms, this table features cable management and stan-dard cutouts for grommets with 2x PC-PATCH panels for accommodating tabletop power for laptops, or USB keys and displaying on screen. Its built-in equipment 10U rack can house a codec or PC with easy access from front and rear. Thermal wrap finish available in many colors. It is also offered as a stand-alone table. (*Extra charge for custom CNC cutouts by VFI.)

Mike Brandes, CTS, DMC-D, contributed to this story.

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huddle rooms

By Peter H. Putman

Halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, two clear trends have emerged with respect to meet-ings: First, meeting presenters and par-ticipants are relying more on tablets, smartphones, and “phablets” than tra-ditional computing platforms to dis-play slides, photos, and videos. And second, meetings are taking place in unusual spaces, including areas with-out traditional desks, chairs, white-boards, and projection screens.

Sales of tablets and smartphones, also known as “bring your own device” (BYOD) products, have grown at exponential rates in the past four years while cutting into the sales of traditional notebook and desktop computers. That should be no surprise, as BYODs are actually powerful computing platforms with fast CPUs, gigabytes of flash memory, sophisti-cated operating systems and touchscreens, and high-resolution display screens.

Unlike notebook computers, BYODs can easily travel anywhere with their owners. As a result, many of us use our tablets and phones around the clock and feel lost without them (particularly Millenials!). So it’s logical that we’d want to share the contents of our BYOD display screens with others in meetings, rather than drag along and boot up a laptop.

It’s nIce to share, but…Until recently, the most practical way to show PowerPoints, documents, and photos from a tablet or smartphone has been to employ a Wi-Fi connection and some sort of “bridge” device, a.k.a “collabora-tion hub,” to display them on a projection screen or a

large, self-contained display.All BYODs have Wi-Fi radios built-in and support

Transport Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). That’s led to the development and sale of several collaboration hubs for the AV market. These devices connect to a projector or direct-view display and allow multiple users to log on and share, copy, edit, and annotate presentation material.

Indeed, the collaborative AV product space is “hot” right now. These products are designed to operate as “plug and play” interfaces, automatically configuring IP addresses and supporting a wide range of software applications. Corporate, government, non-profit, and higher education markets have shown a strong inter-est in these products to support a growing number of BYOD platforms (Windows, iOS, and Android).

not as easy as It soundsWith these collaboration hub products and 802.11n/ac wireless protocols, sharing and viewing static imag-

es is easily accomplished. But that’s not the case when video is played back. Most tablets and smartphones capture video at 1920x1080p resolution with a 30 Hz frame rate, and some new smartphone models can record 4K (3840x2160p) at 30 Hz! So it’s not unrea-sonable to expect our collaboration hub product to support these frame rates.

While TCP/IP is a versatile protocol for send and receiving email and files, it does not provide any error correction or stream management to play video at high frame rates. The result is herky-jerky video through collaboration hub products that frequently locks up or drops out, not unlike what you’d see at home when streaming Internet video to your com-puter screen.

GettInG It rIGhtIt’s time to go back to the drawing board and design a collaboration hub product that employs various

Collaboration AV Systems in the Age of BYODSharing is caring, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

An example of a BYOD-supported collaboration hub by Mersive.

(continued on page A15)


huddle rooms

Huddle rooms, or small conference and meeting rooms, are designed in such a way as to reduce the clutter, so to speak. These rooms are often smaller than a traditional conference room and feature a small table, and likely a flat panel display. Users can walk into the room, plug in to a cable cubby, or con-nect to a wireless display appliance and they are off and running in just a few seconds; certainly stream-lined over a traditional conference room or boardroom setting.

There are a number of available options when it comes to sourcing hard-ware, or software, for huddle room pre-sentations. Seemingly every manufacturer in the switching and control market has a huddle room product, and from the num-ber of press releases I receive on a daily basis, the quantity and quality of huddle room technology is only going to increase. Whether the application is for presenta-tion, group study, collaboration, or even videoconferencing there is no shortage to the supply of huddle room solutions.

When thinking about potentially out-fitting a huddle room, there are solutions that run the gamut from simple plug-and-play options, to wireless technology, to small solutions that incorporate full con-trol systems as well as videoconferencing capabilities. It’s imperative for technology managers to evaluate products not only on the qual-ity of the technology, its consistency, reliability, and ease-of-use but also to make sure the solution meets the application.

For an organization that uses huddle spaces spo-radically, investing in huddle room systems that are

costly and have extraneous features, for example room scheduling, might not yield the best ROI. Universities with Microsoft Lync might could greatly benefit from selecting a huddle room system that inte-grates with users’ laptops to provide video teleconfer-encing, whereas those without a soft-codec based VTC system might not get the same return. These are a few products that have stood out as viable solutions for

any huddle room space, from familiar manufactures that will integrate well into any existing environment. We explain them in greater depth in the previous feature in this Guide.

• AMX Enzo• Crestron Connect It and AirMedia

• Epson BrightLink• Extron TeamWork• FSR Inc. HuddleVu Dugout• Kramer VIA Collage• Vaddio GroupSTATION

Look for the best fitThis is a small sample of the products available to

help outfit a room with flexible huddle technology. Although huddle rooms are the latest technology, and aren’t going anywhere, for some organizations, tech-nology managers must measure whether or not implementing huddle rooms at all—regardless of technology available—is the best fit for their organization.

first: focus on bYoDHuddle rooms are designed largely to operate with BYOD technology. A user brings their laptop into the room, sets it on the table and with a plug-in here and a few clicks there their content is displayed on the screen. This is exactly what huddle rooms are designed for—quick and easy presentation and collaboration designed to increase efficiency. For an organization which relies heavily on meeting spaces with a built-in AV operator, these rooms can be confusing, challenging, and ulti-

mately won’t be utilized as frequently, limiting the ROI.

How can tech managers deal with managing BYOD when we are still also using more tradi-tional technologies, such as PCs? According to Tom Barnett, director of marketing communications at

Small, But Significant When it comes to AV systems, one size does not fit all, even for smaller huddle rooms.By Mike Brandes

Over the past few years colleges, universities and corporations have adopted a more agile approach to meetings and working in groups. One of the ways companies are making this change is by implementing huddle rooms, which allow for more flexibility, and better opportunities to collaborate or to meet, whether it’s a decision making meeting or a group brainstorming session.

A BYOD breakout room powered by Crestron.

control technology provider Crestron Electronics Inc. in Rockleigh, N.J., in today’s meeting space, you need to be able to support all sources, including mobile devices and laptops. “Your goal ought to be that the user can get their content up onto the display, regardless of the device it’s on,” he said. Crestron has addressed this with its DigitalMedia distribution system, which manages both point-to-point wired and network-based wireless infrastructures. Its AirMedia component enables presenters to share content wirelessly with their laptops, tablets, or mobile phones.

Barnett says that one of the issues in getting content off devices and onto a screen is compatibility. “If you are building an all-AirPlay infrastructure, you’ll have a difficult time with Android and Windows devices,” he said. “It’s important to find the solutions that are cross-platform. Ideally, once you get into the device age you have a single solution that can be used for laptops as well all of the mobile device platforms,” he said. He also notes that a lot of BYOD solutions feature built-in wireless access points, which can compromise security. “We encourage people to think very hard before adding a wireless access point that is not already in their enterprise security policy. You want to treat BYOD collaboration devices like stan-dard network appliances.” AirMedia, he notes, can be managed similarly to other network assets like printers.

What do your users need?For organizations, which don’t regularly hold small, or stand-up, meetings a huddle, room might not be the best fit, either. Yes, the technology is great, easy to operate, and relatively inexpensive, but if there’s no need for the space, then there’s no need to buy the technology. For some organizations, presentations are only done to large audiences, and smaller, decision-making, meetings are often done in an office with no presentation capabilities. Designing a huddle room for an organization with these qualities would be akin to putting the proverbial cart in front of the horse.

Technology managers: if your organization has decided to migrate from confer-ence rooms towards more agile huddle spaces, there are endless options. But also know, just because the technology exists, doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for your organization.

Mike Brandes, CTS, DMC-D, is a regular contributor to AV Technology.

The ideal collaboration system of the future will support a variety of mobile devices, as well as digital and legacy analog signals. Extron says that its TeamWork solution was designed to meet any huddle room or collaboration need.

www.revolabs.com/uc500

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Where Ideas are Huddled,Not People

Where Ideas are Huddled,Not People


huddle rooms

That’s especially true in the arts, where the univer-sity must impart a detailed knowledge of art history and current practice while helping students embrace their creative natures and develop an ability to work skillfully in a variety of media.

At Northern Arizona University (NAU), profes-sors in the School of Visual Communication have begun experimenting with a new tool, a collaborative graphic arts classroom, that promises to help with both challenges. The technology in this room encourages a more demo-cratic approach to education, where students can learn more actively, retain knowledge more effectively and develop higher level thinking skills.

Andy and Charlie White of Sedona, AZ-based AVDomotics provid-ed the system designs, relying on Crestron DigitalMedia and AirMedia to provide a platform on which the technology in the room is based.

Understanding edUcational User needsAccording to Taryn Williams, Interior Design Project Manager for NAU’s Facility Services Department, plans for the new classroom evolved over the last two years as she studied collaborative learning spaces at various universities, then visited one at Phoenix Biomedical, part of the University of Arizona. The new classroom she designed, in collaboration with its users, is the first of its kind at NAU. It

seats students together in five groups of four, rather than individually in rows of tables. Each student uses an iMac connected to the university network as well as to a shared 55-inch monitor through a Crestron DigitalMedia system. Each workgroup is also con-nected to a DM switching system, so the instructor can send workgroup images to a classroom projector and to any or all of the shared screens.

“Our goal was to get students more involved in the learning process, so that classes

would be less lecture-based and more hands-on, sharing material while working on various projects dur-ing class,” Williams explains. Some

instructors have taken a flipped-classroom approach, asking students to watch or read the day’s material before they get to class, and then devoting class time to discussion and hands-on practice. According to Rodrigo de Toledo, who initiated and managed the project for the School of Communication, it’s up to individual professors to use the space as they see fit. They will learn, by doing, the best uses for the new technology. One class, focused on package design, uses unique, real-world tools, including a 3D printer, to help students learn and practice the art. Animation and motion graphics classes, which are taught in the same room, benefit from SoundTube FP6030-II para-bolic ceiling speakers that provide individual sound focused on each of the five work tables.” The room, de Toledo says, has created a new dynamic that’s attract-ing a great deal of attention from professors and stu-dents. “We’ve been approached by other departments wanting to try the new classroom, but the room is already scheduled from 8:00 to 6:00 every day.”

integrating the technology According to Andy White, one of the main chal-lenges in developing the technology for this room was a need for a highly flexible, high-speed infrastruc-ture. “There are 21 computers permanently installed, each showing very high resolution images, including 1080p video and potentially 4K video.”

“That’s one reason we used the Crestron plat-form,” notes Charlie White, lead programmer. “From our experience, Crestron offers the best and most comprehensive video switching and system control. Its sophisticated programming environment is the only platform we would trust to support the scope, performance and reliability requirements of this proj-ect.” In addition, NAU wanted the ability to test this implementation with various types of classes, digital material and software. “It would be a guinea pig for future projects, and so they wanted to implement Crestron’s AirMedia, Apple TV and hard-wired switch-ing and find out which would be the most appropri-ate for different applications,” Andy White says.

In this classroom, all of the iMacs are connected via a hardwired DigitalMedia nested switch topog-raphy using a Crestron 8G+ network. “At each table, we used a 6x4 DM switch with a DM 8X8 head end

switch set up in a star topology,” Andy White explains. “This allows each table to operate inde-pendently yet collaborate with the rest of the class-room at any given moment.” It’s an economical

and very flexible solution.In addition, an Apple TV device can connect

an iPad or iPhone directly to the main switch and, through the switching network, show its screen

Active Learning in the ArtsNorthern Arizona University’s collaborative classroom gives students an important voice in instructionBy AV Technology Staff

It’s the ultimate challenge for higher education: finding ways to help students develop thinking, learning and problem-solving skills, while at the same time absorbing the fundamental facts of a given profession or field of study.

Crestron’s AirMedia

integrator: aVdomoticswww.avdomotics.com

info

A15The Technology Manager’s guide To huddle rooMs | O c t O b e r 2 0 1 4 | avnetwork.com

huddle rooms

image on any combination of the room’s displays. An AirMedia gateway can connect up to 32 Apple, Android or Windows devices and offers quadview, the ability to show up to four images simultane-ously on a split screen delivered to any combination of displays.

In addition to the iMac connections, AVDomotics installed Crestron’s new FT-TS600 five-inch flip-top touch screen to control local table switching and volume levels and allow students to connect their own laptops and video devices. There’s a Planar 55-inch commercial display for local viewing and a SoundTube 30-inch sound-focusing speaker above each worktable for localized sound. AVDomotics technicians also installed a BenQ 1080p-resolution projector and an 8.5-foot wide projection screen, a lectern with a podium mic, and a 10-inch Crestron touch screen for the instructor’s use. Two Crestron four-channel amplifiers provide audio for each of the worktables and the classroom as a whole; four Crestron Excite ceiling speakers provide overall class-room sound.

InteractIve learnIng partnersAn unusual service that the Whites provide has been particularly helpful in launching this new classroom.

“Most AV integrators will only allow the client to ask for programming changes for 30 days after instal-lation, unless they buy a service contract,” Charlie White notes. “Yet a truly custom solution like this takes time to develop in an educational environment, with many iterations of changes needed to optimize workflow.” In this case, NAU can request changes to the user

interface throughout the spring semester. De Toledo says he is excited about the chance to teach in the new classroom, as are others in the department.

“It’s a big step for us,” Williams adds. “It’s a great addition to what we offer as a university.” Andy White says that AVDomotics is so committed to this project that they are offering NAU a unique partnership in a class to be taught next fall. “One of their curriculum areas is interactive user interface design. We have offered the Crestron user interface we created as the basis of a class project.”

“We worked hard to provide the best operational workflow, but these students will take apart our inter-face and see if they can improve on it,” Charlie White adds. “We see this as a tremendous opportunity to get a fresh perspective on what we do every day.” That’s what this collaborative classroom is all about: taking bright, creative people and giving them the opportunity to develop their skills, their abilities and their minds.

protocols in creative ways, instead of being limited by them. There’s nothing wrong with using Wi-Fi to connect users, but it doesn’t make sense to rely on TCP/IP to handle every type of media we want to use in a presentation.

The appeal of BYODs lies in their being true plug-and-play devices. Just power them up and launch an app—that’s all there is to it. There’s no reason why our “ideal” collaboration hub product can’t be just as easy to use, and it certainly shouldn’t require any special add-on dongles that are incom-patible with tablets and smartphones.

Instead, let’s take the lead from BYODs and switch to a downloadable app to log into and oper-ate our collaboration hub. Thinking further about the design, our hub should be expandable to a large number of users—equal to the largest block of IP addresses it can assign, which would be 256 simultaneous logins. And for end-users that require secure connections, strong encryption (1024-bit) should be a standard feature, along with dynamic room codes.

How about image tiling? Any one user can command the display screen. How about two? Three? Four or more users? Given the low cost and size of LCD displays today (and their full HD resolution), there’s no reason why we can’t easily show four, five, and even six simultaneous images on the screen, re-sized and tiled automatically by our collaboration hub. By adding support for a second screen, we can expand that to 12 simultane-ous images.

The next step is to tackle the trickiest problem of all—streaming video. As we learned earlier, TCP/IP isn’t a good choice for real-time video playback; not unless we add some sort of real-time transport protocol with adaptive bitrate streaming to support the higher frame rates (30 Hz and 60 Hz) that tablets and phones are capable of when operating in playback mode.

Surprisingly, none of the current collaboration hub products can do this. Yet, video streaming problems through collaboration hubs are still the #1 complaint of end users, particularly in the higher education market.

But our ideal collaboration hub will support full-motion 1080p/60 video streaming from mul-tiple platforms—Windows, Mac OS, and even Android. Not 15-frame video, not 30-frame video—full 60-frame video, free of dropped frames

and frozen images. And it will do this over conven-tional TCP/IP wired and wireless networks with no special protocols required.

While we’re at it, why not include the ability to show the main display screen on our tablet or smartphone? (And all simultaneous images, too.) That function is easy enough to implement, as is an electronic whiteboard overlay for annotation and picture-in-picture (PiP). If our primary display is a touchscreen monitor, then its functions should also be supported by our hub.

Let’s finish off the package with native app host-ing, multi-user file editing and manipulation in real time, and quick file sharing capabilities. If one user wants to send another a file, they simply send it while a session is in progress. If several members want to mark up or edit a document, they simply edit it. And we can also support remote users who log in via Skype, Lync, WebEx, GoToMeeting, and other conferencing programs.

a bIg leap forwardThe system we’ve created looks and works a lot differently than any collaboration hub product offered today. But the truth is; none of the technol-ogy it relies on is exotic. What’s different about our collaboration hub is that it mixes and matches apps, protocols, image processing, and interactiv-ity to best advantage. It’s just a more intelligent approach.

Now, we have a collaboration hub product that is really designed for end users, and not for engi-neers who appreciate technical complexity. What’s more, we can use this new hub with existing AV switching and distribution equipment to expand its capabilities, such as connecting multiple digital display inputs and outputs, or using wireless HDMI to connect our collaboration hub to displays that are mounted in in so-called “ad hoc” meeting spaces with no walls and high ceilings.

Best of all, our collaboration hub is platform-agnostic: Mac Os, Android, or Windows will all work with this system, free of dongles or other hardware plug-ins. Logging in is an intuitive pro-cess, as is file sharing, annotation, and exchanging ideas. All of these features and advances add up to define a big leap forward for collaboration systems in the age of “Bring Your Own Devices”.

Peter Putnam is a technology consultant with Kramer Electronics USA.

Collaboration AV Systems (continued from page A10)


huddle rooms

While researching furniture for the space, Taggart discovered a table perfectly in line with his vision. The Backbone Media Platform by KI is a media sharing platform that supports technology in a collaborative setting and is designed for up to six users. Knowing the school had standardized to HDMI connections, the next piece of the puzzle was to find the specialized technology to support the interactiv-ity requirements. Taggart says, “FSR’s HuddleVu fit the bill perfectly.” It worked not only with the design of the table, but allowed for the type of reliable, intuitive collaboration that the school desired for the room. With simple and quick installation, the students didn’t have to wait long to start sharing.

Two months after the Princeton Academy started using the HuddleVu system in their new “Technology Discovery Lab” or TDL for short, Taggart says the system has been working like “a champ.” They have had phones, laptops, and iPads hooked into the HuddleVu connections, each working seamlessly. The room is running all day during school hours, and the students “cannot wait to get into the TDL.” The lab has a posted “Norms for Conduct” that include requirements such as: each student must be on the top of his game, be the best student he can be and respect the work of others while in the TDL. Taggart claims that these norms are strictly followed “because the students want to be in that space, so they adhere to the rules of the lab.”

When Collaboration Influences Behavior in EducationThe strategy for tech & discovery at the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart.By AV Technology Staff

Tune into the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart YouTube channel to learn more about their pedagogy, community, and technology services.

When the Princeton Academy was planning their massive school renova-tions, one of the new technology rich spaces Michael Taggart, Instructional Technology Coordinator at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, envisioned was a small group collaboration area that would allow for intensive coopera-tive sessions for both students and faculty. Princeton Academy is an innovative school, emphasizing technology and active learning in all their classrooms. They wanted an extension of their technology rich classrooms in other areas of the building; one in the form or a modern group collaboration space.

Princeton Academy of the Sacred HeartPrinceton Academy of the Sacred Heart is an indepen-

dent Catholic school for boys in Princeton, NJ, sup-

porting Junior Kindergarten through Grade 8. They are

committed to academic excellence within the context

of a faith-based community. AV and technological

tools are utilized to help prepare students for success.

The Technology Discovery Lab is using the FSR HuddleVu to support phones, laptops, and iPads

PRINCETON ACADEMY OF THE SACRED HEARTwww.princeto-nacademy.org.

info

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All brand names, product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered trademarks, and trade names may be used to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Crestron disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Crestron is not responsible for errors in typography or photography. ©2014 Crestron Electronics, Inc. AD2014_09

TechManagers Guide to Huddle Rooms

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