IDEA Panoramic Screens Transform Collaborative Learning Space at Cal Poly Pomona

Challenge

The Collins College of Hospitality Management (CCHM) at Cal Poly Pomona prides itself on providing undergraduate and graduate students with collaborative, learn-by-doing instruction. Their new 12,100 square foot Marriot Learning Center on the Pomona, California campus required creative, interactive learning solutions for their 48-seat lecture rooms and 36-seat instructional support rooms.

To equip the technology-rich classrooms while maintaining a supportive learning environment with open spaces and natural lighting, ClearTech Media of Alta Dena, CA was brought into the project as AV integrators. President Christina De Bono and Project Manager Joe Perez worked with CCHM Project Manager Andrew Naranjo and Dean Dr. Lea Dopson.

Whiteboards, projectors and projection screens are familiar fixtures in most classrooms. However, the ClearTech and CCHM teams knew they needed to take a more forward-thinking approach in order to streamline the space for optimized collaborative learning.

“We wanted to give students the right tools to create endless possibilities, in both teaching and learning without any limitations,” said Naranjo. “Our goal was to build a learning environment that stimulates, encourages and engages students in active academic participation and mutual collaboration, while advocating scholarly interest and exploration.”

Solution

Da-Lite IDEA™ Panoramic screens were the solution for consolidating these needs, both academically and architecturally. De Bono was already familiar with the IDEA™ Screen since ClearTech specified them in similar applications that required an all-in-one solution of interactive projection with the versatility of a whiteboard. This screen innovation was ideal for the vision and goals of the Marriott Learning Center which included:

• A totally interactive learning environment
• Flexibility for furniture movement and variable group sizes
• Freedom to huddle-up and collaborate while utilizing AV technology
• Ability to maintain use of screens in a full instructional/lecture capacity

IDEA is optimized to avoid projection “hotspots” and excessive glare commonly seen when projectors are paired with standard whiteboards. The super rigid construction of IDEA ensures that users click right the first time, every time, with interactive features. The magnetic, dry-erase surface is easily cleaned after marker use to ensure projected images appear clear and bright.

IDEA is available up to 121" diagonal individually or can be installed in a panoramic setup to accommodate larger spaces. IDEA Panoramic is a three-panel design where the center panel is formatted for projection (16:9 or 16:10 ratios) with side panels providing extra collaborative writing space, 12', 14' and 16' standard widths in 46", 50", 53" and 60" heights.

De Bono and Perez organized field trips for Dr. Dopson to see IDEA in action at other ClearTech installations. First, they visited the Southern California Gas Company where IDEA and Epson Brightlink projectors are installed in roughly 40 training rooms. Then they travelled to Citrus Community College to see the same projector pairing with IDEA in a model classroom featuring new learning technology and the school’s continuing education department.

After conversations with these ClearTech customers and hands-on experience, 12 IDEA Panoramic screens were selected for the Marriott Learning Center: six installed in the lecture rooms and another six in the instructional support rooms. ClearTech paired the interactive dry-erase screens with Epson Brightlink 595Wi interactive short throw projectors.

“The IDEA screens were chosen because of the interactivity of the projectors with the screens, so users can annotate and import images onto the whiteboard, edit them and keep that interactivity stored in the owner-furnished PC,” said Perez. “That way, they can save the information for training, printing and emailing.”

There isn’t a clear front or back to the nontraditional classrooms in the Marriott Learning Center. Instead, the instructor is aided by the AV technology seamlessly integrated into an open and changeable floorplan. Three walls feature the IDEA Panoramic screens. The fourth wall is a manually operated air door that can be opened to reveal space that mirrors the layout on the other side. Depending on class size and needs, either three or six IDEA Panoramic screens can be utilized at one time. 

Results

Dr. Dopson and ClearTech were so pleased with the outcome of this installation, they organized and hosted a symposium on how technology can transform collaboration in higher education in the Marriot Learning Center. The Collaborative Learning Environments Symposium featured a moderated panel-discussion on the relationship between AV integrators and educational institutions during project planning and highlighted how technology has enhanced learning in the new facility. Attendees of the symposium received interactive demonstrations of the AV systems, including the IDEA Panoramic screens. Groups of attendees worked together to put together puzzles on the screens.

“The Collins College of Hospitality Management Expansion project is an exemplary example of how AV systems can transform collaboration in today’s learning environments,” said De Bono, adding “ClearTech and Collins College both realized this to be the case and took the opportunity to showcase what has been accomplished throughout the course of the project.”

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