Bring new dimensions to your lecture

Visualisers are revolutionising teaching and can make a huge impact on learning especially when they are used in conjunction with the Interactive Whiteboards and computers that your university may have already invested in.

They allow any 2D or 3D items to be magnified and displayed onto a large screen, from any angle.  Lecturers can demonstrate equipment or procedures, show images and text or share work with a large audience of students.  They are ideal in large lecture theatres where every member of the audience can see every small detail clearly even from the back of the room.

The WolfVision VZ8 series of visualisers features a high resolution SXGA camera, showing 30 frames per second, which means no blurring when an object is moved, and no after image when an item is removed from the visualiser. With a large shooting area outside of the working surface and DVI port to allow output to widescreen applications it's no wonder that the WolfVision VZ8 series has become a worldwide standard in universities.

To arrange a demonstration or find out more about pricing contact Reflex on 0118 931 3611. To know more about this product or any other audio visual products please visit: www.universityav.co.uk

City University London's Investment In Learning delivers more effective teaching

Located in the heart of the capital, the City University London's approach to education draws on more than 100 years of tradition.  Their approach to the use of the latest technology to impact on learning is, however, totally 21st century.

As part of the University's strategic plan, they have set a clear goal to develop a support infrastructure focused on improving the learning experience of their students.  The University therefore decided to equip all 85 learning areas in the main campus with state of the art audio visual resources that were reliable, standardised and well supported. 

Reflex Limited won the tender to supply and install the audio visual installation, alongside TeamMate, who supplied communication modules and podiums. The project was delivered within a tight 3 month timescale.

Bespoke specification

Each module was designed according to the needs of individual rooms, but all included preloaded Crestron touch panels and control processors, Elmo P30 visualisers and a SMART Sympodium interactive tablet. The University invested in custom design to ensure that the touch panels were as easy to use as possible.  Other outputs included DVD/ VCR combination units, camera systems and audio cassette players.  The switching was handled by a combination of products from Extron, Magenta and Kramer.  Audio reinforcement was tailored to the rooms and included surround sound receivers, speakers, amps and mixers, gooseneck microphones and induction loop amplifiers. 

Central control

The software included packages for managing visualiser images, recording lectures and AV conferencing and electronic voting systems.  Connection to the network gave access to the University's virtual learning environment, e-portfolios, library resources and the internet.

Reflex handled all the programming work to ensure that the individual units correctly interfaced with the central control and resource management system through Crestron Room View. Before the project half of support calls were resolved within 15 minutes, now that figure is 99%.

Clive Holtham, Professor of Information Management at the business school proposed the Classroom Experience Initiative (CEI).  Now operational, this initiative comprises a mix of online materials, a credit card sized helpline call and ‘basics' reminder and informative information posted on all the equipment.  A single page survival guide is available to support lecturers.

Positive feedback

"The new equipment has changed the way I deliver lectures on multi-media to my students.  Interactive tools help me demonstrate the power of ICT in real time.  I don't need my laptop - I can download all the necessary materials from CitySpace anywhere, any time" according in Dr Muttukrishnan Rajarajan, School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences.

And Robin Skinner, School of Social Sciences says "The ultimate impact of its success on the quality of the Teaching and Learning experience for staff and students at City University London cannot be underestimated".

Quantifiable results

The project has directly supported the University's strategic plan and was completed on time and within budget.  Two thirds of users in a survey reported that teaching is now more efficient and effective and nearly half say that convenience and accessibility are the greatest benefits.  Others say the new technologies improve audience engagement and inspire the use of different learning materials. It has now become a showcase for other universities.

To see more university case studies please click here

Deliver more information to more students with less effort

We're seeing a high demand from the further education market for a presentation capture product which automatically creates lesson content and course material, streams it to the internet, and securely archives for on demand viewing.

Mediasite is a technology that records and synchronises audio, video and presentation content and allows the lecturer to webcast it over the internet, automatically and securely.

Students can view the information as it is streamed in real time, or on demand to suit them, regardless of where they are based.  It gives them the ability to access the information they need, when they need it and is ideal for increasing the understanding of lectures, more effective revision and out of school learning.

Reflex MD Roland Dreesden believes there are countless applications for the product, which benefit both for the lecturer and for students.  "The technology allows lecturers to teach once and reach students again and again" he says.  "And it offers huge advantages to students who can review complex material on demand, or even on the move, through podcasting." 

The compact all-in-one unit is presenter friendly with nothing to load or learn and can increase the effectiveness, speed and frequency with which information is delivered to audiences. As well as the benefits to students, it is being successfully used for leadership meetings and alumni relations.

For more information on Mediasite or you require a free demonstration please contact us on 0118 931 3611.

Thames Valley Breakfast Meeting

Calling all Berkshire universites - a date for your diary.  Keep the early morning of 24th September free for our planned Business Efficiency breakfast meeting to be held in Reading.

We're looking at gathering together local universities to share information, with the aim of saving money, reducing carbon footprint and increasing efficiency. This is an initiative we have trialled on a small basis within our own trading estate.  One action we took was that all the companies on our estate now co-ordinate their courier collections, and that alone has saved Reflex over £7000 in courier costs per annum. We liked that so it seems like a good idea to spread the initiative wider.

Details will be announced shortly but call us to register your interest.

Not near Reading?  Don't worry, we also plan to roll this initiative out to other areas of the country.  If you like the sound of it, call Kristy on 0118 931 3611, it will help us identify which areas to go to next.

Spreading the word about Unified Communications

A broad mix of university, corporate and government visitors attended the Reflex/Polycom Unified Communications Live Event on Thursday 2nd July 2009.

With two sessions, end users learned about the technologies available including video conferencing, web and data communication. Whilst AV consultants had a more technical session during the afternoon.

During the day, delegates not only experienced first hand Polycom's voice and visual collaboration products but learned more about how the technology could deliver solid cost savings for their organisations.  Visitors were also able to watch demonstrations and presentations from MediaSite - a product that simplifies video capture and streaming.

For Minesh Chikniwala of London South Bank University the Unified Communications day was the second Reflex event he had attended and he found it of great interest.  "The day was a real help in understanding the new technologies available, and I particularly valued having the opportunity to get some technical advice.  The 360 video conferencing was a new technology that I learned about.  I'll definitely be attending future Reflex events". 

Click here to register a colleague to receive future AV event invitations.