Between July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022 the following updates were by the Learning Environments Team. 

Classroom Technology Upgrades

Technology upgrades in approximately 30 rooms to bring rooms to more updated standard. This included replacing the oldest models of projectors, upgrading all 5” touch panel controls to 7” touch panels, updating Elmo document cameras to Epson doc cams. This standardization allows the Classroom Support team to simplify the user experience from room-to -room and to make providing support more efficient.  

Three rooms (Jennings Hall 355, Journalism Building 360 and Cockins Hall 240) were added to Classroom Pool and the existing technology in them was brought up to the standard. 

Enhanced Conferencing Systems were installed in Hagerty Hall 056, Denney Hall 238, Journalism Building 239, Enarson Classroom Building 014, Baker Systems Engineering 180, Agricultural Administration 246 & 247, Stillman Hall 245 and Psychology Building 010. These systems better support the delivery of classes in a hybrid model, where some students attend in person, and some attend remotely via CarmenZoom. Additionally, large annotation monitors were installed in Independence Hall 100, Hitchcock Hall 035 and 131 for better lecture experience. 

Installations of cameras for Zoom use were completed in all classroom pool rooms. Some larger rooms were also upgraded with ceiling microphones for Zoom use. 

Physical Renovations and Space and Furniture Upgrades

Eight classrooms in the Journalism Building were renovated. The rooms received new floors, paint, graphics and furniture. 

To expedite the backlog in the refresh process which resulted from COVID spending pauses, furniture was replaced in 11 classrooms in Hagerty Hall and Knowlton Hall. Additional rooms in the Journalism Building, Orton Hall, Hayes Hall and Jennings Hall will also be completed before Fall 2023 as a part of this process.  

An additional style of larger ADA-compliant table has been added to the stock on hand.  

University Hall 014 renovation plans are in progress and construction is set to begin after the Spring 2022 semester.

Digital Union Updates

Digital Unions received an upgraded wordmark to reflect the new naming scheme, which names the facilities based on functionality, rather than simply location.  

• The Digital Union: Recording Studio in Denney Hall had approximately 200 video reservation and 425 audio reservations. 

• The Digital Union: Work Studio in Hagerty Hall had 16 iMacs upgraded. Additionally, design work has been completed for the installation of a 4-seat podcast recording studio to be installed in the Fall 2022 semester.  

• The Digital Union: Prototyping Studio in Enarson Classroom Building reopened after remodeling and furniture replacement. The 3d printers and iMac computers were replaced and a Glowforge laser cutter and a Cricut cutter were also added to add functionality to the space. After a period of downtime due to printer issues, approximately 50 3d prints were completed once the replacements were installed, showing a return to pre-pandemic levels of print requests.