Prototyping classrooms of the future
by Barbara Wiedemann
Teaching Assistant Professor Gary Kayye, founder and director of The rAVe Agency, educates UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media students about new media technologies and personal branding when he’s not speaking at the likes of the UBTech 2019 Conference and Almo E4 Experience about emerging technologies — he headlined both gatherings this year. Kayye also stepped up on campus to help shape the cutting-edge classroom installed this summer in 58 Carroll Hall, advising Michael Sharpe and his IT team on the latest AV technology. Broadcast and Emerging Media Engineer Gary Kirk led the design and installation of the tech enhancements.
“We're preparing students who can seamlessly enter the workforce,” Kayye said, ”bringing a familiarity with the latest in presentation and collaboration technologies to their employers.”
The space is piloting “AVoverIP” — the first classroom on Carolina’s campus to receive all audio and video over the network. It contains the largest screen in our school — 220-inch, with a native 4K projector — and five separate displays which can present unique content controlled by the room’s instructor or by groups of students. Students can push their content to any display in the room, or to any fellow student's computer, making it the most interactive space in Carroll Hall. High-end cameras and microphones make every corner of the room available for video conferences, and presentations can be recorded and uploaded to share with the class for review.
The classroom is a prototype for the new Curtis Media Center’s high-tech, flexible space solutions. Construction on the Curtis Media Center is underway thanks to a
$10 million gift from the Curtis Foundation to build a state-of-the-art media center and fund immersive learning experiences for UNC Hussman students. It is the second largest single gift in the school’s history. The gift will transform the historic Polk Place quad, adding an architectural beacon just to the north of Carroll Hall that visually reflects the collaborative, multi-disciplinary nature of the leading-edge learning that goes on within its walls.