Learning Spaces

Pepperdine Outfits Classrooms with Hybrid Learning Tech

• By Rhea Kelly
• 09/16/20

Southern California's Pepperdine University has upgraded 166 classrooms on campus with hybrid learning technology for the Fall 2020 semester. While fall instruction will remain fully online, the institution wanted to ensure its learning spaces could accommodate any combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning, according to a news announcement.

Across all the classrooms, the university opted for the EduFLEX solution from AV integrator ClearTech, a technology bundle that pairs Panasonic's AW-HE38H HD Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera with a microphone system, PoE switch, cables and more. In particular, the PTZ cameras provide HD video quality, 22X optical zoom, and a wide viewing angle and pan/tilt range. Faculty and students are using the Zoom videoconferencing platform to hold class virtually.

Standardization was key to ease of use for faculty, noted Jared Mukai, manager of AV technologies and special projects at Pepperdine, in a statement. "We didn't want our faculty to feel like they had to re-learn the technology, depending on where they taught. We needed a solution that would be turnkey and completely location agnostic, so no matter where you're teaching, you could walk into the room and it was going to feel the same as every other space."

He continued, "There were a lot of complexities we needed to work through on a very tight timeline to ensure we'd be ready to support our students and teachers with online class instruction by mid-August. We evaluated various scenarios but with the uncertainty of the new academic year, we knew we needed a solution that could support all types of learning environments. ClearTech's EduFLEX solution with Panasonic's PTZ cameras was the clear choice given its reliability, flexibility and versatility to transform distance learning environments into engaging teaching experiences."