Begin by choosing the podium type you are working with from the photos, or take a look at the List of classroom equipment and uses.
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Podium types
Which type of podium controller are you working with? Click one of the options below to get started.
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| Touch screen with Simple and Advanced options | Touch screen with Simple, Advanced, Divided and Combined options | Intermodal Transit Facility classroom |
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| Simple touch screen 1 | Simple touch screen 2 | Touch screen with advanced setup |
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| Push buttons only | Push buttons with Apple TV | Push buttons with touch screen |
Are you seeing something different? Please contact Kate McCallum on k.mccallum@pacificu.edu so that we can add it to this guide.
For immediate help with any podium, call the UIS helpdesk on 503 352 1500.
List of classroom equipment and uses
This is a list of the equipment commonly found in Pacific University classrooms, along with some tips and ideas for effective pedagogical use. Not all of these items will be found in every classroom, and in some cases a couple of alternatives are listed. You can check what equipment is in your classroom by consulting the listing on EMS Room Scheduling (search for the room under Locations, click on the listing and consult the Features tab).
Table of contents
Equipment for hands-on demonstrations
Document cameras
Faculty To-Go Kits
Microphones
Ceiling microphone array
USB microphone
Wireless microphone for in-room amplification
Cameras
Ceiling-mounted camera
USB webcam
Blu-ray/DVD player
Wireless displays
Wireless Modena hub
Apple TV
Podium computer
Laptop connectors: HDMI, VGA and USB-C
Chalkboard/whiteboard
Equipment for hands-on demonstrations
Document cameras
Most classrooms are equipped with document cameras, which are located somewhere on or near the podium and look a little like an overhead projector. These are simply mounted cameras that can send a feed of whatever they are pointed at to the podium, and so to a wall display that students can see. In some classrooms, you can also send this feed to Zoom (i.e. the document camera shows up as one of your camera options); otherwise you can often direct the in-room camera to pick up the wall display.
Document cameras can be an invaluable tool for demonstration. They allow you to give students a close-up view of what you are working on, be it a demonstration with a small piece of equipment, a calculation, annotation of a diagram, or anything else you might be doing at hand scale. They can offer an alternative to writing on a white- or chalkboard, preserving all of the pedagogical advantages of live, narrated writing, but also offering you the possibility of zooming and repositioning the text. Because students are watching an expert interacting in real time with the materials (written or otherwise), they are able to observe how you interact with them and even, by observing gesture and listening to narration, to observe how your attention is directed, which teaches a refined critical engagement as they learn how to direct their own attention.
This article suggests a set of uses for a document camera in the art room which have broad applicability for different disciplines.
Some document cameras have a low frame rate or a lag, which can make fast-paced demonstrations less successful. In that case, you might consider directing an on-podium webcam toward the action, or checking out a Faculty To-Go Kit.
Faculty To-Go Kits
These are worth mentioning here, although they are not standardly to be found in classrooms. If you need positioning flexibility or a high-quality feed for your demonstration, you can borrow a Faculty To-Go Kit which includes a GoPro and a variety of mounting equipment, including a head and chest harness. You can join a Zoom meeting from the included laptop and send a feed to that meeting from the GoPro using a USB-C cable, and so can send that feed to a wall display and to any remote attendees. This can be helpful if you want to do a demonstration that requires you to move around. Reach out to us at edtech@pacificu.edu if you would be interested in borrowing one of these kits.
Microphones
As you are getting set up for a class, the Test Speaker & Microphone tool on Zoom can be very helpful for ensuring that you are connected to the correct microphones and speakers. The tool will run through a couple of tests and prompt you to cycle through the options until you are getting the results you need.
On some podiums, it is only possible to send the feed from the in-room microphone to Zoom from the podium computer–so it can be best to default to using the podium computer to connect to a Zoom meeting. In some rooms, it is possible to send that feed to another device such as a laptop. If you see the message ‘Connect camera and microphones to new source?’ when you switch to a new input, or the room is listed on as offering ‘Matrix switching’ on EMS, you are in one of those rooms. In that case, you will find a USB cable on the podium labeled ‘Microphone,’ and will need to plug this in alongside any other cables.
Ceiling microphone array
Some of our newer classrooms are equipped with in-ceiling mic arrays. If you look up at the ceiling and see a tile that looks different from the rest with a green indicator light, that may be an in-ceiling mic array. These systems are great to work with because they pick up audio from anywhere in the room–so whether it is the educator speaking or one of the students, their normal speaking voice will be picked up. With Zoom audio routed to the classroom speakers, a remote participant should be able to hear and speak just like another person in the classroom.
These microphone setups can be fantastic for remote participation, since remote participants can participate fully even in class discussions without effort. It can be a good idea to prompt remote participants to practice speaking and interacting with those in the room, so that they become comfortable speaking and being heard; you might make a habit of greeting remote participants early on in a class and asking them to respond, or starting with an activity that prompts interaction between those in the classroom and those on Zoom.
USB microphone
In some rooms, you will instead find a microphone on the top of the podium. These are cardioid microphones, meaning that they pick up audio from one side only:
This means that if you want them to pick up a student speaking, you need to make sure that they are oriented in the right direction, and that there is an unobstructed path from the student to the microphone, to pick up their voice clearly.
Wireless microphone for in-room amplification
Some rooms are equipped with wireless microphones with battery packs, which can allow soft-spoken speakers to amplify their voice for the whole class to hear. A note of caution: using in-room amplification through the speakers can result in muffled or echoey audio on Zoom because the speaker’s voice is picked up from multiple sources, and while our new classrooms are equipped with echo canceling, they will not give you a completely clean feed–so use in-room amplification sparingly.
Cameras
If you have remote participants in your class, or are teaching in a large classroom where students in the back may have less of a clear view than those in the front, the in-classroom cameras can be an important tool to foster a sense of inclusion and involvement. You can send a feed from an in-room camera to Zoom, and show the meeting on a wall display with that feed pinned in speaker view to make sure your movements are clearly visible to the entire class. It can be worth making a habit of speaking directly to the camera early on in the class to make yourself aware of its position and orientation. An educator’s gestures, facial expressions and movements can give students important non-verbal cues about how to interpret the material being covered and how to direct their attention, particularly when the educator is interacting with materials on a wall display or white- or chalkboard, so it is important to give some thought to how these can be captured.
It is possible to send multiple camera feeds to Zoom simultaneously if you join the meeting from the podium computer and another device simultaneously (be sure to have the microphone and speakers muted on one, to avoid a feedback loop). If, for example, your integrated laptop webcam is capturing a good image of you, you can position the in-room to send a feed of the students in the room. This allows remote participants to feel included if there are questions, activities or discussions.
As you are getting set up for a class, the Video Settings option in the Video menu (accessible by clicking the caret next to your video on/off button) will show you the camera options you have available and allow you to switch between them to select the correct feed.
On some podiums, it is only possible to send the feed from the in-room camera to Zoom from the podium computer–so it can be best to default to using the podium computer to connect to a Zoom meeting. In some rooms, it is possible to send that feed to another device such as a laptop. If you see the message ‘Connect camera and microphones to new source?’ when you switch to a new input, or the room is listed on as offering ‘Matrix switching’ on EMS, you are in one of those rooms.
Ceiling-mounted camera
In rooms equipped with ceiling-mounted cameras, the podium controller will have the ability to control the camera’s pan, zoom, tilt, and to switch between a variety of presets. Some also offer tracking, in which a camera will follow a presenter’s movements around the room.
Some classrooms are equipped with multiple cameras: for example, one front and one rear. In some rooms, you will see both cameras appear as options in Zoom’s Video Settings, in the Video menu (accessible by clicking the caret next to your video on/off button); in others, you will select the camera to be used on the podium controller.
USB webcam
Some classrooms are instead equipped with small USB webcams, usually found on top of the podium. You can manually position these cameras to face you as the educator, or turn them around to face the students.
Blu-ray/DVD player
In most rooms, you will find a Blu-ray/DVD player in the podium cabinet. Showing students video clips in class, with your commentary, can be a great way to model the kind of awareness and analysis you want them to learn. Shorter clips can be more effective, especially with ample commentary to guide their attention.
Wireless displays
Some rooms are equipped with some form of wireless display, which can allow any person in the classroom to share their screen to a wall display. These can be a convenient option for the instructor, such that they can move around the classroom freely, but are also a great way to have students show their work to the class for discussion and feedback.
Wireless Modena hub
In some rooms, you will see a Wireless Modena Hub as an input option on the podium controller. Select this option, and you will see a display come up which gives you a URL and a four- or six-digit code. Type the URL into your browser (in some cases you will need to download an app–this should not take long), enter the access code, and you or any student will be able to share your screen with the class.
Apple TV
Similarly, rooms equipped with Apple TVs will allow you to share your screen from an iOS or iPadOS device on Apple TV using AirPlay. Please note that this will only work with Apple devices.
First, choose the ‘Apple TV’ button on the podium controller (you may find this option on one of the push buttons). Then, do one of the following:
- On the iOS or iPadOS device, swipe to open Control Centre, tap Screen Mirroring, then select Apple TV in the list of AirPlay devices.
- Start playing video on the iOS or iPadOS device, tap AirPlay icon in the video window, then select Apple TV in the list of AirPlay devices.
Podium computer
Many podiums house a PC desktop computer, which you can use your PUNet ID to log in to. If you want to run Zoom and send the camera and microphone feeds there, your best bet is often to do that from the podium computer, . Use the audio settings on Zoom to make sure you have the right speaker and microphone selected–the ‘Test Speaker & Microphone’ tool on Zoom is very helpful for this.
Laptop connectors: HDMI, VGA and USB-C
Most podiums offer at least two types of cable for connecting a laptop, among HDMI, VGA and USB-C. UIS also have a variety of adaptors to lend out. In many cases, the different cables are labeled (for example, Laptop 1, Laptop 2 etc.), and it is worth checking the label on a cable to make sure you select the correct input on the podium controller.
If you want to show slides in presenter mode, your best bet is often to plug in a laptop, which will be able to recognise its built-in display and the wall display(s) as separate displays. If you want to do this, it is worth checking your laptop’s internal display settings and ensuring that it is set up to extend displays rather than mirroring them.
In some rooms, it is possible to send the room’s camera and microphone feed to another device such as a laptop. If you see the message ‘Connect camera and microphones to new source?’ when you switch to a new input, or the room is listed on as offering ‘Matrix switching’ on EMS, you are in one of those rooms. In that case, you will find a USB cable on the podium labeled ‘Microphone,’ and will need to plug this in alongside any other cables.
Chalkboard/whiteboard
Chalkboards have been an integral part of classrooms for centuries, and other methods for writing and demonstrating in a mutually visible space have been in use for millennia. These low-tech methods are still very relevant in today’s classroom, and this paper by Michael H O’Hare, Professor of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley explores some of the nuanced information-carrying and collaborative capabilities that even such a simple tool can offer. A shared space for writing is an invitation to think out loud, and observing an expert thinking (while calculating, manipulating, annotating, or simply focusing attention as expressed by speech and gesture) allows students to observe that expert interaction with the material being studied and so train their own capabilities.
A blog post by Peter Newbury in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia offers some helpful tips for effective chalkboard teaching, as well as some discussion on the role played by written materials in an active learning context.
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