Multimedia Teaching Rooms: Another Generation

by Joe Chow

Even though multimedia has been used for teaching in the university for quite some time, well-equipped multimedia-teaching classrooms are still most welcome, and in particular, two new classrooms on the 2/F of Cheng Yick-chi Building should not be missed!

Upon entering these new classrooms, you can expect to see a fresh design: from the theatre-like raised floor, ceiling lights, audio/visual equipment to the latest computer workstations. All the facilities were planned and installed with user friendliness in mind.

To follow the same naming convention of other terminal rooms in the CSC Student Terminal Area, these rooms have been named Room P and Q or Multimedia Teaching Room 2 and 3 respectively (as Room L is also called Multimedia Teaching Room 1). The capacity of Room P is 50 while Room Q holds 38 seats.

The classrooms were designed by curriculum experts to promote innovation and effectiveness in teaching. The idea is to make it easier for staff members to integrate multimedia and information technology into their teaching. The facilities in these rooms include:

  1. Central equipment control using a Desktop Control Panel. This allows the instructor to easily control the equipment like lighting, projectors and screens.

  2. Theatre-like floors and armchairs for comfort.

  3. All audience monitors can be selected to show the display of the instructor's computer provided that the instructor grants such permission.

  4. Special light dimming facilities.

  5. Three projectors, three screens and a plasma TV allow multiple display from different sources of input.

  6. The video/audio output in one room can be displayed in the other room. This allows the instructor to extend the size of the audience to a maximum of 88.

  7. The CityU Smartlock system is installed in each room to prevent unauthorised access. Only the person who has booked the room with a valid staff ID card is able to open the door.

  8. Each room is equipped with video conferencing facilities for joint events organised with outside parties.

  9. AV devices including VHS video recorder, DVD player, microphone, amplifier and camera have been installed. Wireless microphones are provided on request from the CSC General Office.

  10. The instructor's workstation is a Pentium 4 PC capable of high-end image processing as well as connecting to external servers, downloading information and accessing the Internet.

For room booking arrangement, you can use the same class booking system that is for other CSC terminal rooms. This system can be invoked by selecting "Facilities Booking" from the CityU Intranet Menu followed by "CSC Teaching Studio - Class Booking".

Please note that the user must book the room himself/herself, or at least, the booking must be transferred to him/her prior to the day of teaching. This is because the SmartLock system only recognises the person who booked the room as the only authorised person to open the door.

Operating instructions for the room equipment can be found in the instructor's computer workstation. In case help is needed, telephones can be found both inside and outside the rooms with contact numbers on them.