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AV - Learning Commons Technology: Finance and Analytics Lab (FAL)
A summary of what's capable in the new Learning Commons Finance and Analytics Lab, 1210B.
About the Finance and Analytics Lab (FAL):
This is a technology-rich space that provides students and instructors with the necessary hardware, software, and dataset access to do market analysis. The lab seats 45 students. The furniture and technology are configured to facilitate small group work and for instructors to employ a variety of active teaching methodologies.
Room Characteristics:
Student Tables: The FAL has 45-seats distributed in nine tables for five students each. The single station at the end of each table (aka the ‘end-cap’) has Bloomberg Terminal installed. You can tell by the use of the dual-display and the proprietary (multi-colored) keyboard. Bloomberg is only installed on these end-cap machines in the lab. Aside from this, all other computers in the tables have the same software.
Instructor Lectern: The lectern is the instructor's station located near the entrance of the room. It has the controls to set the AV in the room the way your teaching style requires.
- AV control panel to select input and output of video and audio to the different room displays and room speakers
- Windows 10 computer with CD/DVD player and USB ports
- Dual display computer monitors for duplicate or extended display
- Wireless lapel microphone
- Wireless clicker
Video Call Pole Computer (For web-conferencing):The Pole Computer is located on the far right-hand wall of the room-the same wall that holds the two large classroom monitors. This station has the capability to make calls via Zoom, Teams, or any other such web-conferencing software. The following equipment will be available to you at this station:
- Windows 10 computer
- Room Camera (fisheye) located at the top of the large main monitors
- Ceiling Microphones
What can you do in this rooms with AV?
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Display content from the room’s Windows-based instructor computer located on the movable lectern. We recommend that you use this workstation whenever possible.
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Wirelessly display your or your students AV content from any portable device like a laptop, tablet, or cell phone
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Display the content from any table’s end-cap computer to the entire room.
Active and Collaborative Learning in the FAL
The lab has been designed for instructors to engage students in active and collaborative learning. The Educational Innovations Team is happy to talk with you about different ways to use the lab for such learning. Contact Chris Dakes (chris.dakes@wisc.edu) to set up time to meet.
It would be to your advantage to consider how student learning is impacted in this room and to get some ideas for designing learning activities. The consultation with the Educational Innovations Team is a good place to start, but there are other resources that can be very helpful.
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Baepler, Paul Michel. A Guide to Teaching in the Active Learning Classroom: History, Research, and Practice. Stylus Publishing, 2016. – The Wisconsin School of Business and the campus-at-large has used this text for an instructor’s book club to discuss active and collaborative learning.
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“Teaching in an Active Learning Classroom (ALC).” Active Learning | Center for Educational Innovation, cei.umn.edu/teaching-active-learning-classroom-alc. – A great online resource for instructors.
Room Setup
In the morning, the default setup for the room will be as seen in the photo. Throughout the day, this setup may vary depending on use. It is the responsibility of the instructor and students to set up the room as needed for the class instruction. This will include logging in and out of the computers.
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Room lights will be on at 100%. You may dim the lights as needed using the settings on the light control switch by the double-door.
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All computers and displays (table and wall-mounted) will be powered on.
Logging on to computers
Each student computer requires the user to enter his/her NetID and password. It will take a moment for the computer to log in so we recommend that the students do this as soon as they are seated at the table.
Instructors at the podium will use their Grainger Username and Password so that they may access folders and files that are hosted on the WSB network.
Operating the Lectern Control Panel:
Upon entering the room, the control panel displays a black screen. To wake it up, simply touch the panel lightly. Touch the panel again to get to the controls for the room’s audio and displays.
To display content from the Lectern Computer to all Displays:
- On the control panel make sure that the settings are set to Instructor under the Input Mode column and then select Lectern Computer on the table layout on the right hand side. The selected setting should become white when selected.
- Login to the computer by typing in your username and password.
- What appears on your computer screen will then appear on each of the wall-mounted displays in the room.
- On the control panel, make sure that the settings are set to Student under the Input Mode column and Computer under the Monitor column.
- What appears on the end-cap computer’s screen will then also appear on the wall displays for that table.
- If you want to share that table’s work with the rest of the room, select Instructor and then press the corresponding table number in the right-hand diagram.
- This room also has the capability of displaying content through a wireless connection to a laptop or other Android/Windows/iOS based device.
- To do this as an instructor, the control panel must be set at Student on the Input Mode column and Wireless Video under the Monitor column.
- The wall-mounted displays will then change screens that contain an IP address. Enter this IP# into a browser and follow instructions to download/utilize the necessary software. (See ‘How to install and use the Mersive client)
- Wake the control panel and set it to Instructor on the Input Mode column and Pole PC on the table layout.
- Login to the Pole PC by approaching it, and inputting your Grainger Username and Password.
- Login to the desired web-conferencing service (Zoom, Teams, Etc.) and begin call.
- This room also gives you access to display multiple forms of information on separate monitors.
- You can have one monitor displaying information from the podium computer, and have one off. Or you can display information through a wireless device and through the podium computer. Regardless of what you choose to do, simply follow the above steps for your desired form of connection.
Audio
By default, the audio in the FAL plays through the room speakers in the ceiling. There is a lavaliere microphone in the podium if a speaker requires voice amplification.
The control panel has three different options for controlling volume. The two on the left-hand side are the controls for volume produced at the podium. This includes the Mic and the Lectern’s computer (be it a wirelessly connected laptop/alternative device or the actual Windows based desktop).
On the right-hand side is a volume control button called Monitor Volume (All Monitors). By default the audio is turned all the way down since you will typically use the room speakers or individual headphones for instruction. The only use case scenario for this audio slider is that all students are connecting to their displays separately for group work, and they require audio playback for their group. This can get messy however as all monitors will be at the same volume, and will overlap, as such, use of this volume slider is not recommended.
At the end of class:
Make sure that you and your students log out of the computers at the tables, and make sure you have turned off the system on the AMX panel. To do so, you must click "Turn System Off" and then "Yes Shutdown."
