From Classroom to Future-Ready Teaching Laboratory – An Inside Look at the Education University of Hong Kong

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) is a public research university based in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1994, it is the only government-funded institute in Hong Kong that specialises in teacher education. The University needed a new E-Learning and teaching laboratory to provide interactive and flexible learning styles in a space designed for students and teachers to explore educational technology tools and resources. The laboratory is designed to foster collaboration, promote innovation in teaching, and develop digital literacy skills.

Challenges – Inside and Out

In such a classroom, collaboration is crucial, so it had to be equipped with the latest technology for the delivery of digital lectures and presentations. As such, the designers’ wanted the technology to meet today’s needs, but also accommodate developments in future teaching technologies.

Outside challenges in planning this new space mainly surrounded the timeline and working up against supply shortages as COVID-19 started impacting the project. Despite these hurdles, clear communication from the integrator, BAP and the Extron team helped set realistic project expectations.

Transforming a Normal Classroom into a Flexible Teaching Laboratory
To create a teaching laboratory, BAP worked with the University to convert a normal classroom with a fixed table at the front and a standard front-throw projector into a flexible space which required a very fluid and easily configurable design. That meant that all the tables, displays, lecterns, and any other items which would find fixed positions in a normal classroom had to be easily and frequently rearranged and, with them, any of the attached AV. As one could imagine, cabling is a huge factor when it comes to moving several pieces of AV equipment from one area to another on a frequent basis. BAP knew that they needed to reduce the overall cable count to make this type of flexible classroom possible.

Design Solution

The room houses two 85-inch and four 65-inch Fujitsu interactive displays. Supported by an Extron DTP CrossPoint 4K matrix switcher with 10 inputs and eight outputs, users can share content freely between these different displays. When they want to select sources, the Extron TLP Pro 725T 7″ Tabletop Touchpanel on the lectern makes this an easy task. The room is equipped with camera and audio peripherals to enable remote participation using online meeting tools to support continuity of learning when in-person attendance is not possible. A full-featured, height-adjustable TeamMate lectern delivers a flexible workspace, giving them easy access to their teaching tools and resources.

“The customised and user-friendly TouchLink Pro touchpanel offers intuitive system operation which simplifies control for the instructors,” said Finson Lam, BAP project director.

Because the lectern can be moved to three different locations within the classroom space, there isn’t necessarily a “front” of the class. The instructor moves about the room and has access to all the technology they need from the lectern, itself. From various points, they can use the TLP Pro 725T touchpanel and bring up any source and send it to any of the room’s six displays.

NAV Pro AV over IP – The Solution the Room Needed
This is where cable consolidation comes into play. Ordinary configurations in a flexible space such as this would involve multiple cables tethered to the lectern and a real challenge when it comes to mobility solution that requires more cables between the endpoint and the matrix, NAV manage multiple AV signals over a single 10Gb fibre cable between network switches, which makes the cable management much easier. In this application, the NAV single-fibre solution is ideal – it helps keep the lectern mobile and minimises chances of a wrong cable connection. NAV is also a great choice when it comes to system expansion, which meets another one of the install goals. If it’s decided that more monitors are needed, for example, expansion with NAV is as easy as adding two more decoders. If there are ports left on the network switch, NAV can support as much expansion as a space like this will need.

Control and Audio

The customised touchpanel interface includes all of the functionality the instructor needs. Whenever a guest visits and takes over teaching duties, the intuitive nature of the touchpanel and its interface make an easy task out of operating the room AV. The Dante-enabled Extron DMP 128 Plus audio DSP processor processes and routes all classroom audio, starting with the lectern-mounted gooseneck microphone for the instructor and Sennheiser ceiling microphone arrays for the students. Audio DSP within the DMP 128 Plus C AT handles dynamics processing, echo cancellation, and auto-mixing, ensuring the cleanest possible audio goes to the XPA U 358‑70V amplifier, powering SF 26CT ceiling speaker that deliver exceptional intelligibility throughout the room.

Results
Education University Hong Kong had its work cut out for them with the timing of their project, but once underway, Extron and BAP worked hard to make it all happen. From the start, it was important to the University to build a sophisticated AV solution but also keep costs in mind. As such, the team was able to use some existing technology, while also bringing in the latest Extron solutions. Working closely with the project team, the end users, and everyone involved, Extron and BAP were able to provide the University with the type of forward-looking technology they desired, while keeping usability high and costs at acceptable levels.

EXTRON EQUIPMENT – PARTIAL LIST

Extron