Flex: Delivering 🚚

A clip-on lapel microphone is also available in each room. The lapel microphones will automatically connect and begin capturing audio when it is turned on:

The microphone unit is located in a pouch:

To capture audio, classrooms have high quality, omni-directional microphones built into the ceiling:
 

The microphones can capture audio from anywhere in the room, and require no interaction. 

Volume can also be adjusted from the Crestron control panel:
 

Most settings in the physical AND virtual classroom can be changed and controlled from the Crestron control panel:
 

In a Flex classroom, the Desktop All-in-One PC has the same functionality and features as any Media Ready classroom. However, according to an instructor's preferences, they can also use the PC to deliver instruction to students. 

The desktop comes equipped with a webcam, microphone, and audio jack for headphones.  

Each Flex classroom is equipped with a Document Camera. While models vary from room to room, instructors can share content with face-to-face students through the classroom projector system, synchronous online students through Zoom, and online students through a recording. Instructions for displaying/sharing content can be found under the heading Sharing Content below.  

To capture video, classrooms are outfitted with a ceiling mounted camera:
 

Classrooms are equipped with a Desktop PC and projector. By default, content from the PC's screen will be displayed by the projector, but content from a document camera can also be displayed through the projector as well. As outlined below, instructors can also use the control panel to share content from the Desktop PC and document camera with online students through Zoom. 

The Crestron control panel can also be used to turn the projector on and off:
 

While the Flex room itself is not able to join individual breakout rooms, you certainly can! Many instructors have found joining the Zoom meeting from the classroom desktop computer to be helpful when using breakout rooms, and other devices work too. Face-to-face students can even join the Zoom meeting from their notebooks (personal or Waubonsee-provided), tablets, or phones. This allows you to group Face-to-face students with those attending via Sync Online! 

Flex breakout room tips:

• We encourage you to contact our team to schedule a time to practice using breakout rooms in a Flex room so we can iron out any issues together. 

• If you or students are joining via the Desktop PC or another device in the room, we encourage both you and students to use headsets and/or at least headphones to minimize distractions and audio issues.
  • We also suggest that you mute the room microphone through the control panel while using breakout rooms, but you also need to remember to unmute it when you return to work as a whole class. 

• Have a shared Google Doc at the ready for monitoring and/or leaving comments. Students in groups can also share their working documents with you so it's easier to assist if questions come up.

• Mass messages can be used to send the same information to all the breakout rooms at the same time.

• Canvas Groups and Discussions are other options for effectively facilitating student groups.

• Review information on our Zoom page to get additional ideas with breakout rooms.

*Please note: in order to enable live captions, you must be the host of the Flex meeting. In order to enable live captions through the Crestron control panel, follow these steps once the meeting (or class session) has started:

1. Select Manage Participants:
   
2. Select More:
   
   
3. Select Enable Live Transcription:
   
   
4. Select Done:
   
   
5. At this point, you can adjust live transcription through the gear icon on the top right of the control panel: 
   
   

Please see the Zoom page for detailed instructions on how to enable live captions in a Zoom meeting through the classroom desktop or a laptop.

Students attending remotely may opt to send chat messages rather than unmuting themselves. If you are viewing remote students on a classroom display, chat messages will briefly appear as they arrive. A chat log of all the received messages is always available from the Crestron control panel. If you are planning to engage with students through text/chat messages, it is recommended that you join the meeting (without audio) from the desktop computer in the classroom.

More information about Zoom chat controls is available through the Zoom Help Center. 

The control panel can also control Zoom specific settings and features:

*Please note: Many of the features located on the control panel require the room to be a host/co-host. If the room isn't the host/co-host of the meeting, the control panel will not have many of these features, including security, recording, recognizing HDMI, and others. The room becomes a host or co-host automatically when it starts the meeting through Outlook scheduling, automatically when an instructor manually joins the meeting through the control panel and not an additional device, or manually when the host/instructor makes the room the host/co-host while in the meeting on a separate device (e.g. the classroom desktop computer). You can also review these guides for additional support and information:

• Zoom Rooms Full User Guide (Updated Summer 2021)
• Zoom Rooms Quick Reference Guide (Updated Summer 2021)
• Control Panel Guide on Zoom Help Center
• Pinning or Spotlighting Participants on Zoom Help Center 

Content from the Desktop PC can be shared via Zoom. Alternatively, content from a document camera, HDMI, or VGA device can be shared by changing the settings on the Crestron control panel. 

Before selecting to share content through Zoom, you will need to select what content you would like to share through the control panel by selecting the Home button. Options include content from Computers, such as the Desktop PC, an HDMI Laptop, or a VGA Laptop; or the classroom Document Camera, or Doc Cam:  
 

Sharing will begin when the Start Sharing button is pressed:
 

After selecting what you would like to share on the Crestron control panel, content can be shared in the Zoom meeting by pressing the green Share Content button in Zoom:
 

You have multiple options if you'd like to share a video with students in a Flex classroom.

Preventative Steps

Regardless of the option that you choose, we suggest you take the following steps as appropriate:

1. Test out the video before class. Videos can range by quality and shareability, so we recommend testing them in advance. For example, you may share a video with someone speaking, and it turns out just fine. However, you may try to share a music video, and it ends up being muffled and spotty. This could be for a variety of reasons, including initial recording quality, copyright prevention tools integrated with Zoom, and even internet connection. 
   1. So, whether you choose to do it at home or in the Flex room, we recommend that you test sharing the video on Zoom ahead of time. You can do this by creating a meeting that you join from two devices (e.g. a Flex room and smartphone). Since you may need two Zoom accounts to do this, you can contact our office to coordinate a test if you need additional support. 
       
2. Share a link to the video (or the video itself) with the class on Canvas. With this safeguard, students are able to access the video on their own as appropriate. Asynchronous students can watch the video before or after class, and synchronous students (joining in person or on Zoom) can watch it ahead of time, after class, or access it easily during class as needed.

Option One: Sharing through the Classroom Desktop or another Laptop/Device

Although both options work, we found that this option seems to work out the best for audio quality. In order to do this, you need to be in the Flex meeting on two devices (e.g. the Control Panel and the Classroom Desktop). 

One you’re in the meeting, select Share Screen on the desktop/device:

Select the appropriate window or application to share, and check the Share sound box. Please note: you do NOT need to join audio on the desktop/other device to share the content: 

At some point before you play the video, you need to mute the Presentation volume on the control panel. To do this, you press the home icon/button on the control panel, then the menu icon/button, then Volume, and then the mute icon/button for Presentation. Though the control panel may vary in its display, the options look like this:  

You can do this before or after you share your screen. This will prevent echoing for in-person, remote, and asynchronous (recording) viewers. 

You can now play the video. 

Option Two: Sharing through the Control Panel

You can take the normal steps to share content through the control panel without issue in some cases, but many instructors have noted audio issues when sharing content. If this is the case for you,  and you would still like to share content through the control panel, then we recommend you use the following options: 

• Ask a Student to Share Content:  Accessible through a link or video shared on Canvas or a link shared through Zoom chat, students can share videos with the rest of the class by sharing their screen (and the video) with the class. They need to make sure they check the Share sound box when sharing.  If you notice any echoing, you may need to mute the microphone in the classroom:
  
• Take a Break:  Accessible through a link or video shared on Canvas or a link shared through Zoom chat, remote students in Zoom can play the content on their own device while you play the content for the class. Then, you can reconvene as a group later.   

Instructors have direct control of the classroom camera using the pan, tilt, and Zoom controls.

The camera also has several preset settings including:

• Whiteboard
• Students
• Desk

You can easily switch between them on the Camera Control window: