Classroom Technology

Every nose tissue is a Kleenex™; every interactive monitor gets called a ‘SmartBoard™.’ Over the years, the college has installed touch and stylus-based monitors from various manufacturers, not always Smart™. They have different built-in software to manage the touch interactivity and may require you to adapt techniques when moving between classrooms.

Our most popular software packages for interacting with screen images are 1) PowerPoint and 2) Smart™ Notebook. Both are installed on all classroom presentation computers. Smart Notebook is also available for office and laptop use on a per-request basis. Talk to our IT team if you’d like it to be installed.

If a classroom monitor is interactive, it will be one of: 1) a projection surface with pens, 2) large monitor, again with pens, 3) a smaller, lectern-mounted monitor that allows various writing angles for comfort.

One way to show small objects to a class is to invite everyone to ‘gather ‘round and lean in.’ A better way is to use a document camera to project it huge on screen. Some of our document cameras even work with microscopes!

Many Trades classrooms are equipped with ceiling-mounted cameras to show the workings of larger physical item to the class, like a circuit breaker panel or fuel injection pump – any assembly you can fit on or near the instructors’ lectern. Similar cameras are beginning to equip our science labs to show anatomical models, wave tables, fossils …

"How can I connect my device to the room system?” is a request we frequently hear. Most commonly this is a laptop or tablet. Unfortunately, the answer varies. Many of our classrooms have old – but still functional – analogue switching systems that assume your device will send a VGA signal. VGA video is no longer offered on most laptops – and never appeared on tablets - so you may need an adapter to make it work.

Our newer rooms include an HDMI input, so a cable is usually all you need. Tablets and Mac computers will still require an adapter; these are inexpensive to purchase or can be borrowed from the Library.

There are a few classrooms – especially in our Gold Creek campus – that have wireless display technology. No cables required. See IT for details.