CLASSROOM SURVEY
January 18, 2007
Submit Campus Updates to: battson@id.ucsb.edu

1. Installed Equipment

a. How many general assignment (GA) classrooms does your campus have?
b. How many are equipped with data projectors?
c. How many have network connectivity?
d. How many GA classrooms have installed computers?

INSTALLED EQUIPMENT

Campus	Team	Total GAC	Data Projectors	Network	Computers		DP %	IP %	PC %
Berkeley	Golden Bears	240	76	240	0		32%	100%	0%
Davis	Aggies / Mustang	119	110	119	0		92%	100%	0%
Irvine	Anteaters	119	77	119	75		65%	100%	63%
Los Angeles	Bruins	196	84	196	38		43%	100%	19%
Riverside	Highlanders	70	70	70	70		100%	100%	100%
San Diego	Tritons	101	96	101	0		95%	100%	0%
San Francisco		54	38	54	0		70%	100%	0%
Santa Barbara	Gauchos	94	58	72	21		62%	77%	22%
Santa Cruz	Banana Slugs	91	52	52	12		57%	54%	13%

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Berkeley: Brenda Farmer reports that UC Berkeley has recently developed a 4 to 5 year plan to upgrade their general assignment classrooms. Two million dollars has been allocated for the project. By the end of summer 2007, all of the General Assignment Classrooms in Wheeler Hall will be 100% installed with audio/visual technology (See http://ets.berkeley.edu/ClassroomTechnology/Wheeler2007.htm).

UC Davis: All classrooms have Smart Panel controllers, DVD's, VCR's, and sound system. As of Fall 2007, 10 lecture halls will have built in digital audio recording capability. 9 lecture halls have dedicated document cameras installed. By January 2007 all classrooms will have digital projection.

UC Irvine

UCLA: For Winter Quarter 2007, OID Classroom Services has equipped ten more classrooms with audio podcasting equipment, bringing the total number of equipped classrooms up to twenty. Using automated software, the lectures in these rooms can be captured and posted to the BruinCast web page within a short period after class. For ease of identification, the twenty rooms are listed here, as well as being identified with signs at the main doors and on the media equipment cabinets at the actual classrooms. UCLA has budgeted $600,000 per year for the next 5 years to upgrade their classroom technology. Plans include equipping every general assignment classroom with at least one data projector.

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego: Sherman reports, "VC said equip them and had the money." The VC has also purchased laptops for departments to use in classrooms. (He came; he saw; he conquered; and now he has the wisdom to leave before his generous VC retires next year.)

UC San Francisco:

UC Santa Barbara: 80 of our 96 GA classroom are equipped with DVD/VHS combo players. The ever-popular overhead projector may be found in all of the classrooms. Even slide projectors are still maintained, although they are a dying breed. Wireless mics are common in larger lecter halls. Document cameras are not, being checked out on an as-need basis. All equipment deliveries are on recharge (labor only). Total delivery charges for classroom instruction is under $10,000 per year. Equipping all of our GA classrooms would not be as cost effective. Fourteen (out of 29) classrooms seating between 40 and 50 students and twenty-nine (out of 34) classrooms seating between 15 and 30 currently do not have data projectors.

UC Santa Cruz

 

2. What has been your general policy on equipping classrooms? (Why or why haven't you equipped all GA classrooms? Pros and cons on installing computers.)

Berkeley: Our plan is to equip all general assignment classrooms with audio/visual equipment including data projectors and control systems by 2011. Our campus will continue to rely upon faculty to either bring their own laptop to class or borrow one from ETS rather than install less reliable and familiar computers in classrooms.

UC Davis: The policy developed over 5 years ago was to equip all GA classrooms with a standardized projection/viewing capability that was consistent in all classrooms. This policy also devised the concept of not having built-in computers but requiring faculty to bring their own laptop or similar presentation device to the room. Equipment and system was designed to provide hook up capability for these laptop/presentation devices. The lack of having built-in computers installed greatly helped in being able to use available money to concentrate on the installation of projection systems and in being able to sustain and maintain installed equipment in 100% of classrooms with available staff and budget.

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC San Francisco: Budget constraints

UC Santa Barbara: All classrooms with seating capacity of 42 or greater have data projectors and network ports. Some selected classrooms having smaller seating capacity have been equipped and are scheduled by the Registrar according to technology needs. The recharge cost of delivering equipment to the remaing classrooms has been less than $9,000 per year (which the EVC has covered since recharges for delivery were first established c. 2001). The model minimizes installation and replacement costs but does require additional work by the Registrar and faculty in smaller clasrooms.

Faculty have preferred installed computers given the simplicity of simply walking into a fully equipped classroom (and blaming someone else when the technology doesn't work - editorial comment). Utilization has been relatively high with an average of 4 uses per day per room. Expanding beyond the 21 currently installed, however, would put a strain on the support staff. My personal preference is to have faculty provide the content on their own laptop, a practice that has been adopted on campuses somewhat distant from Santa Barbara 93106.

UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz is fortunate to be in a campus expansion phase. Within a two year timeframe and funded by Capital Outlay Construction money the campus will complete eleven new classrooms. These classrooms will have either the UCSC Media Two or Media Three Package (High End Crestron Controlled etc). However; the campus struggles with 40 legacy analog classrooms. Within the new transformed ITS Division, a funding Initiative Process has been created with projects originating from one of six Governance Committees. The Learning Technology Committee http://its.ucsc.edu/governance/ltc/index.php provides input and consultation on Instructional Technology issues. In this round of Initiatives, the Learning Technology Committee proposed a Digital Classroom Initiative which would fund and equip all Registrar Scheduled General Assignment Classrooms with a minimum of a Media One Package. http://media.ucsc.edu/contact/Media_Package_1_v2.pdf

The funding request is for $100,000 to $250,000 in ongoing funding. Language from the Digital Classroom Initiative follows:

The Digital Classroom Project is structured in four phases to create ubiquitous digital presentation environments for faculty in all 80 General Assignment classrooms using a Smart Panel standardized user interface. 40 General Assignment classrooms do not have digital video/data projectors to display computer output. Phase One of this project has been completed; this initiative would fund the final three phases over a multiple year timeframe. Further, the project would establish a Total Cost of Ownership (TOC) refresh Lifecycle for all 91 General Assignment classrooms. Media Services presented and received approval from the Classroom Subcommittee to standardize on a revised Media One Package which includes digital video/data projection capabilities. The Learning Technology Committee has identified this project as a high priority for the campus.

 

3. What is your annual budget for classroom equipment?

Berkeley: Whatever we need we print. (Just seeing if you were paying attention, Victor!)

UC Davis: Funding source is a core funded allocation to the Registrar. The Registrar gets $800,000 per year for classroom upkeep from which we get a share of funds for classroom equipment. We continuously provide the Registrar with analysis, proposals and equipment replacement projections to assist in the budget planning for upgrades, replacements and new classroom installations. Additional funds come from Instructional Equipment Replacement but most of these dollars are used to support equipment above and beyond that installed in classrooms. Additionally we fund separately from the Registrar about $200,000 for our Night Crew who maintain the classrooms on a daily basis.

UC Irvine: 3 truckloads of oranges (Did I Nail it?)

UCLA: "We outsource our printing to Berkeley" (quote from Curly and Moe. No comment from Larry.)

UC Merced: Budget? We don't got no stinkin' budget!

UC Riverside: Who needs a budget with Larry's credit card?

UC San Diego: Permanent: $6,000, Ad hoc: $100,000 to $250,000.

UC San Francisco: Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.

UC Santa Barbara: $40,000 in permanent equipment funds, enough to replace each item on the inventory every 100 years whether it needs it or not. It's just not funny anymore. In addition, the Classroom Renovation program (funded by the EVC) has averaged $100,000 per year over the past 5 years for the equipment component. Departmental (IR) salary savings have been on the order of $150,000 over the past several years and used for equipment needs. A total classroom equiment budget in the neighborhood of $350,000 to $400,000 per year is required to maintain the GA classrooms in reasonably good condition.

UC Santa Cruz: $82,500: Fund Source 19900

4. Who is responsible for installing and maintaining the classroom network ports? (e.g. OIT, Media Services, Communications Services)

Berkeley

UC Davis: IET (Information and Educational Technology) Communications Resources

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego: Academic Computing

UC San Francisco: ENS installs and repairs the network.

UC Santa Barbara: Currently, OIT maintains the campus backbone to the building, and Instructional Resources is responsible for taking it to the classroom. We stopped wiring classrooms when we ran out of pre-existing conduits to smaller classrooms in older buildings. When faculty discovered that we couldn't deliver a network, they scheduled themselves into appropriately equipped classrooms.

UC Santa Cruz: Information Technology Services: Network and Telecommunications Services. Media Services is recharged for each jack: $255 annually and $160 for initial activation.

 

5. To what extent are you using student responses systems?
Recommendations?

Berkeley

UC Davis: UC Davis has used several IR systems with two classrooms having installed H-ITT equipment used by the Physics department and one classroom with an installed EduCue/Interwrite system used by a Political Sciences instructor.

Over the past year we have been evaluating RF systems and this summer UC Davis invited 5 PRS vendors to demonstrate their systems to a group of faculty and technology personnel to make a decision on which system to standardize on for the near future. The systems that demonstrated were eInstruction, Interwrite, Turning Technologies, Quizdom, and iClicker. The criteria being looked at were that there was working software for both PC and Mac; portability of the systems as there would be no installation of receivers in classrooms; and they must be RF. The concensus of the evaluation committee was that Interwrite provided the best system for this campus. Some of the determining factors included:

a. The faculty demanded that any system be not only cross-platform but have equality, i.e. the feature set available on OS X must be equivalent to that on XP rather than the usual catch-up with OS X. The only 2 vendors who had that were Interwrite (via Java) and iClicker (via Real Basic).

b. Interwrite had a feature that none of the other units had which was the ability to store an answer set and then download it later. This would be useful in situations where a class could, for example, walk through a garden, identifying plants, and then go back to the classroom to download the answers.

c. Interwrite had a 2 line LCD screen for answering a question using text, a self forming class roster, as well as getting a visual notification (RECEIVED) on the LCD screen that the answer had been received as opposed to others using an LED light to indicate receipt.

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego: Five lecture halls are currently equipped with infrared systems. More are planned, however, we will probably move to RF.

UC San Francisco: Not currently used

UC Santa Barbara: We decided that larger classrooms required an RF system and thus experimented with Turning Technologies last quarter to mixed reviews (despite pre-test faculty enthusiasm for the system). Some technology failures and some operationsl failures lead to less than stellar (and less than acceptable) performance and reliability. The licensing model is also quite expensive. Transmitter cost to the student was only $41.00 through the bookstore, however, annual licensing is $8.00 per student for two years (20,000 students x $16/student plus 25% per year thereafter is real money). Our current plan is to test the eInstruction system. Student cost is a little more, but reasonable, the clicker is more durable, and there are no licensing fees for the institiution.

UC Santa Cruz: One classroom equipped as an experiment funded from an Instructional Improvement Grant. No immediate plans for expansion.

6. How many FTE and GA are responsible for maintaining classroom and presentation equipment (including morning and/or evening room checkout)?

Berkeley

UC Davis: Primary GA classroom maintenance is by the Night Crew which consists of one Sr TV Tech supervisor, one Sr TV Tech, one Electronic Tech Trainee, and two Lab Assistant II. We also have additional personnel who assist as needed but have other responsibilities such as campus departmental media installations and maintenance, and maintaining our distance learning and video conferencing systems as well as several others on campus. These personnel comprise two TV engineers and one Sr TV Tech.

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Merced

UC Riverside

UC San Diego: 12

UC San Francisco: Two television technicains, 4 classroom support specialists, 1.5 engineers, and the Director comprise the staff.

UC Santa Barbara: Two FTE (Engr. Tech Supervisor, and Senior Electr. Tech.) in our Engineering unit do installation and repair work. One FTE (Media Ass't 2) and two GA in Media Equipment do morning classroom checkouts and simpler, routine maintenance. One FTE (Computer Network Tech.) in Media Equipment is responsible for the classroom network and software on installed computers. One FTE (Computer Repair Tech.) with part-time students do repair work on computer-related hardware.

UC Santa Cruz: 5.27 FTE Staff + .50 FTE Students = 5.77 FTE Total

7. Links to additional Classroom Information