Behind the Scenes
The best teaching and
learning technology can fall
short if supporting furniture,
fixtures, or mounts aren't
helping it do its job well. Plan
ahead, scan the market,
and choose the products
that will make your smart
classroom soar.
BY NOW, THE VALUE OF
INTELLIGENT or "smart"
classrooms is unquestionable—a winning blend
of form and function in these facilities makes
the educational interchange easier for teachers
and students alike. Most technologists and
administrators have developed solid processes
and protocols for locating, evaluating, and
purchasing the most appropriate technology
products for the classroom. Finding the right
furniture and fixtures, however, can be tricky;
options can be limited, and the right vendors
can be hard to track down if you're not familiar
with this market. The worldwide audiovisual
association InfoComm International offers an extensive database
of vendors in various market categories, but
even wading into all that help can be a bit
overwhelming the first time out.
Having said all that, a straw poll at the Campus
Technology 2007 conference this past summer
in Washington, DC, indicated that—obstacles
aside—a large number of higher education
technologists see the choice of furniture and fixtures
as one of the most important decisions in
planning a 21st century classroom (see "The
Plan's the Thing"). With this in mind,
we've selected 14 of 2007's best furnishing
products, to get you started on your quest to find
the items that will truly support your intelligent
classroom technology choices.
Tables & Desks
Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to
tables and desks, and Here Mobile Tables from Bretford certainly fit this bill. All tables come
with twin-wheel casters that enable educators to move
them at will. Grommets alongside
table legs keep cords from
getting in the way. The tables
also feature clips for "ganging,"
or connecting multiple
tables together. An
optional tool, the Ganging
Gere, even allows for
easy, one-handed connections.
Tables vary in
length from 48 to 72 inches;
the Here line also offers
whiteboards (not electronic) and workspace
dividers. All Bretford products are available through
Herman Miller, maker of
the legendary Aeron chair. Priced from $916 to
$1,024, depending on size.
The Evolution Series Flat-Panel Monitor Desk from
Spectrum Industries boasts
a lockable monitor storage compartment
that slides up and down upon demand.
During lecture and study, students keep this
hidden cubby down, leaving a clear
work surface with plenty of
room for notepads and
books. When it's time to use
the computer, a tug on the
hidden handle reveals the
monitor compartment and the
monitor itself. A removable
rear security panel protects
the backs of the CPU and
monitor from theft or vandalism.
The compartment also
has pipes for cable storage.
Price: $1,499.
Business schools in particular
rave about the IVT-C Info-Sharing System from In View Furniture, a fully integrated, 120-inch-long conference
table and matching credenza with a motorized screen.
Together, these pieces of furniture form a powerful, self-contained
presentation system for any environment—from
boardrooms to training centers. The basic table comes with
an internal equipment elevator and four laptop connector
plates. The matching credenza includes a motor and connector
plates, too. Because the table's top is removable
and the table itself is on wheels, the system is ideally suited
for locations where running new cabling in existing walls is
prohibitive. Contact manufacturer for pricing.
For teachers, the ELCO SCM 250 Teachers' Workstation from Marshall Furniture mixes
form and function into one
useful desk. From
the outside, the
desk resembles a
storage locker. Inside,
however, the melamine
furniture has a specially
constructed storage area
for a CPU tower, as well
as adjustable shelving,
locking doors, and floor
and top vents so that
computers don't overheat.
The table also features four 3-inch, multi-surface caster
wheels—a critical element to ensure that educators can
effortlessly move the piece around. Four outside handles
make guiding the workstation even easier. Contact manufacturer
for pricing.
The Exact Furniture Instructors Station from Exact Furniture is a multimedia podium with
a large work surface and multiple storage compartments.
The 45-inch-tall product features a privacy shield to keep
students from peeking at teacher paperwork, locking storage
compartment, well for cables, dual AC outlet, and
heavy-duty caster wheels. It also contains a split lower
compartment with 12 rack rails on one side and CPU storage
on the other. Optional add-ons such as speakers,
amplifiers, and a digital clock are available, too. The table is
available in light wood grain with a black plastic top. Contact
manufacturer for pricing.
Lecterns
Representatives
from KI recently teamed
with professors and technologists
from the University
of Pennsylvania's
Wharton School of Business
to develop a standalone,
height-adjustable
lectern. Dubbed the
Wharton Lectern, the podium can be adjusted from
37.5 inches to 47 inches high.
The product boasts reading
lights, swing-out beverage
holders, and a gooseneck
microphone. It also incorporates
two power outlets and a
pullout keyboard tray with
right- and left-handed mouse
pads. An optional touchscreen monitor
from Crestron Electronics controls
presentation technology and the room environment, including
lights, temperature, and more. If speakers prefer, they
can use their own laptops. Pricing starts at $8,999.
No two lecterns are alike at Miller's Millworks, where a handcrafted, all-wood
product line includes the Multimedia Cart, custom-built
for every customer. Generally, the products stand at least
45 inches tall, and incorporate multiple interior racks for
laptops, VCRs, and other audiovisual equipment. There's
a flip-up convenience
shelf on one
side, and the working
surface can be customized
to fit computer
monitors. The cart
also can be outfitted
with smooth-rolling
casters, reading
lights,
power strips, or
Ethernet ports. Greg
Lund, the company's vice president, says the products
are designed to be plug-and-play for instructors who are
on the go. Contact manufacturer for pricing.
The 48-inch-tall Camberlin lectern from Sound-Craft
Systems is as functional as it is
attractive. The podium boasts a removable reading surface,
front access panel, and doors to allow quick and
easy access to components and cabling.
Options include a cooling fan, keyboard drawer,
and folding document camera shelf. The podium
itself is constructed of
MDF and plywood, and
all joints are glued
and secured with
wood screws
instead of staples
or T-nails. The work
surfaces and
shelves are covered
in Nevamar laminate,
a scratch-resistant covering
designed to last decades. Ten
standard
wood
veneer finishes
are
available.
Pricing
starts at
$2,499.
THE PLAN'S THE THING
The best smart classroom plans tackle technology and furniture together, so one isn't retrofitting the other.
THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP in planning a
21st century classroom is the plan itself—
right down to the furniture plan. Experts
say it's vital to outline goals for the project,
and list objectives succinctly. The resulting
statement of purpose should serve as a
sort of mantra employees can use to
justify every expenditure and decision
down the road.
This is precisely what happened at San
Jose State University (CA) in 2004 when
Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno, associate VP of academic
technology, sat down with other campus
technologists to plan 23 smart
classrooms in the Academic Success Center
that opened earlier this year.
Teams of faculty, administrators, staff,
and students met over the course of a few
weeks to come up with a series of objectives
for the new facility: a) inspire students to
strive for academic success, b) increase student
time spent on campus, and c) create a
new kind of learning space to foster teaching
and learning, collaboration, communication,
and the creation of digital media.
To this list were added other basic goals,
which included providing constituents with
high-end hardware and software, and developing
a space with a "wow" factor that
incorporates elements of the Apple store and other popular
brands. Gorney-Moreno says that while
many of these ideas were vague, they did
give constituents an idea of what types of
technology and furniture were needed.
"We were able to get a sense of the kind
of classrooms and facility we wanted," she
says, looking back. "Before we even started
thinking about specific capabilities, focusing
on what we wanted from these improvements
helped us get our priorities in order."
continued...
Another lectern, this one from Forbes-AV, offers its own bells and whistles. The mostly
wooden Deluxe Multimedia Console stands 47.5 inches
tall and has cutouts for monitor and control panels. It
also features a pullout drawer to accommodate a document
camera, drawer for a keyboard and mouse, digital
clock with a countdown timer, dual-intensity reading light,
and pocket doors. The interior is divided into two sections:
equipment racks in the right compartment, and a storage
area in the left. The console is available in nine standard
finishes, with solid wood fluted columns and a skirted
base. Contact manufacturer for pricing.
THE PLAN'S THE THING
Once campus technologists formed this
plan, they turned their attention to the other
two decisions: technology and furniture.
Menko Johnson, instructional technologist at
the Academic Success Center, maintains
that the best smart classroom plans tackle
technology and furniture together, so one
isn't retrofitting the other in any way. For
SJSU, this meant focusing on the overarching
goal of enabling students to work together
effortlessly and comfortably. So on the
technology side, the school built out a wireless
network and put Ethernet ports into the
floor. On the furniture side, groups of administrators,
staff members, and students went
with three different types of chairs and two
different types of tables from Herman Miller.
All of these items are rollable, enabling
users to maximize flexibility throughout the
building. One class may have the desks
together in a circle; the next class may have
them in lines and rows. Whatever the
design, Johnson notes that the Herman
Miller tables are wider than ordinary
tables—something for which project planners
strived.
"Students are tired of those tiny desks,"
says Johnson, who adds that the university
paid nearly $140,000 for the equipment
overall. "We wanted a place that would
make them feel perfectly comfortable; a
place where the furniture enabled them to
use the technology however they wanted to
use it." Johnson adds that because most of
the furniture in the new facility is also new,
many students have expressed that they
feel like they're in an office—a sensation
that ultimately could prove to be helpful in
the real world, if the conditioning sinks in.
Looking forward, Johnson says SJSU will
continue to experiment with different kinds of
furniture. As he puts it, officials can never get
too curious about which products work, which
ones don't, and what kind of commitment is
required to make sure school dollars are
being well spent.
"It's a constant battle," he says. "Right now,
the furniture that works best is the stuff that
enables students to collaborate and learn
together. Whether that will be the case in 18
to 24 months, we'll have to wait and see."
If budgets are tight or you want to skip bells and whistles
you don't need, you'll appreciate the Mr. Podium Lite 100
Series from Mr. Podium. The barebones
product offers an economical solution for those
schools that want lecterns but aren't willing to spend five
figures to get them. The unit features a locking cabinet with
space for servers and a CPU. It also features a detachable
podium unit. Ample cord control makes the unit easy to
use, and there's another benefit: light weight. While many
lecterns weigh upwards of 50
pounds, this one tips the scales at
just about 20, making it easy to
move around any campus. Contact
manufacturer for pricing.
Mounts
The SmartMount Pull-Out
Swivel Wall Mount from Peerless
Industries combines the
best features of both a wall mount and a pivot arm.
In the closed position, the mount sits 2.25 inches
away from the wall, neatly hiding all components
and cords. Extended, the mount's
sturdy arm construction smoothly glides a
flat-panel television screen (from 26 to 58
inches in size) out 10.75 inches, and
allows pivoting of up to 45 degrees. This
feature enables the screen to be positioned for optimal viewing and also provides easy access
to the back for maintenance. In addition, the product is
customizable for cubbyhole mounts (requires eight
16-inch wood studs). Price: $449.
The Clamp Ceiling Mount from the H.
Wilson Company is
straightforward in name and form alike. Manufactured
of heavy-gauge steel, the product
is essentially two pieces—one that hangs
from the ceiling, the other a platform that acts
as a shelf for a television or computer monitor. The company
claims its latest batch of mounts is the strongest ever
produced—capable of holding up to 250 pounds.
The clamp models (there also are locking-plate models)
feature a sophisticated suspension system
that comes into play when users raise or lower
the mount. Contact manufacturer for pricing.
Another mount series, the Galaxy
Nova from Premier Mounts, is designed for video projectors that weigh up to 65 pounds. The
low-profile mounts hang no more than 6 inches from the
ceiling, and incorporate Premier's patent-pending
SpiroLock torsion-spring mechanism to allow for quick
and easy installation by a single individual, in only a matter
of seconds. The patent-pending Radial Glide option
offers easy tilt, roll, and yaw settings, and the mounts
also boast transformable configuration pitch for rooms
with vaulted ceilings. The products even have optional
15-inch hollow tubular extensions for larger classrooms
or implementations
that require cord control.
Price: $179.
Got a digital
video recorder
(DVR) system?
If so, then the DLBX
Series DVR Lockbox from Middle Atlantic
Products may be
for you. The mount,
which mirrors the dimensions of most DVR boxes yet
can hold up to 100 pounds, attaches vertically or horizontally
to the wall. A configurable thermal management
system includes a fan and two filters, and an optional
thermostatic fan engages only when the box reaches a
threshold temperature. Inside the box, extensive cable
management includes tie-points and cable pass-throughs.
A key-locked hanging front door allows easy
equipment access. Price: $249.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR AV '08
Who knows more about tools and products in
the audiovisual industry than the InfoComm people? At the international organization's
annual conference and expo, higher ed technologists and educators
can find the latest and greatest entries in intelligent classroom furniture
and technology alike. Mark your calendar now for InfoComm '08
at the Las Vegas Convention Center; exhibit days are June 18-20.
Registration opens in January 2008.