Markets /markets Customer Profiles /markets/customerProfiles/default.asp Education Service Center, Region XV /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/default.asp Education Service Center, Region XV San Angelo, Texas Education /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_exterior.jpg /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_room1.jpg /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_room1equip.jpg /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_room2.jpg /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_room3.jpg /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_room4.jpg /markets/customerProfiles/RegionXVESC/imgs/image_RegionXV_room5.jpg In the state of Texas, twenty Regional Education Service Centers (ESCs) serve districts with professional development and technical assistance in a variety of needs. The ESC for Region XV, which is located in San Angelo, Texas, serves 43 school districts. The facility provides teachers and other staff members in the region with professional development for state-mandated curriculum. Over the course of one summer alone, Region XV hosts approximately 300 workshops. “As a result of our upgrades, Region XV is now one of the most technically advanced ESCs in the state,” said Pohl. “Without AMX, we simply wouldn’t have been able to achieve this high level of sophistication.” Time to Upgrade Previously, the facility had one AMX® control system, which was installed in its distance learning room. “Many of our training consultants were wanting to use the distance learning room as a presentation room because of its easy-to-use control system, so we saw a significant need to upgrade the equipment in all of our other rooms,” says Donna Pohl, coordinator of technology for Region XV. Region XV has since upgraded the audio/video (A/V) equipment in its nine-room Conference Center with new wiring, cabling, PCs, projectors, DVD/VCR units, and document cameras – all integrated into new AMX control systems. “We have one large room that can be broken up into halves or fourths, and we wanted consultants to have the flexibility to present in one, two or four of these rooms with easy set up and implementation. To meet this need, we installed an intelligent control system from AMX that can act as four discrete systems or one large system,” added Pohl. For example, to present in a quad formation, all a consultant needs to do is touch one button on the 10” Modero® Touch Panel installed in the mobile A/V cart in any of the four rooms, and the room’s A/V equipment is automatically adjusted for the presentation. Scott Brunner, network video consultant for Flexile Multimedia Systems in San Antonio, Texas, worked with independent programmer Kyle Hillert of Texas Control on the A/V upgrade. “We needed to simplify a complicated multimedia system for the end user, and AMX provided the best platform to achieve this,” notes Brunner. “With AMX, we have the flexibility to adapt to nearly any environment and can provide an easy-to-use technology platform for our customers.” Flexile Multimedia Systems also installed local A/V switchers in each of the nine rooms and created a central hub that acts as a signal distribution point. “Using the AMX system, ESC staff can also send A/V content from one room into another room or all other rooms – however they see fit,” explains Brunner. At the Touch of a Button Extensive automation was required to ensure that the facility’s new A/V technology was easy to operate. “Just about every major decision a presenter makes involves some form of automation,” said Brunner. “AMX enabled us to tie all of the A/V components together into an intuitive, automated interface, so the technology doesn’t play a role in the presentation – at least as far as the audience is concerned.” As in many teaching situations, content is critical to the workshops at Region XV. “We wanted the technology to be seamless and enhance the presentation, but at the touch of a button. We didn’t want our consultants to be constantly fumbling with technology,” said Pohl. “What we’ve achieved is a technology implementation that is almost invisible, so the content is still the main focus of the session.” In the event of a technical issue, consultants can push the help button on the AMX Modero Touch Panel, which sends an email requesting assistance to the organization’s network services team. As an added capability, Region XV’s network administrator, Randon Lance, also wanted an easy way to identify any A/V components inadvertently left on at the end of the day. Before the system initiates the automated system-wide shutdown, an email report is sent to a network administrator that contains this information. “As a result of our upgrades, Region XV is now one of the most technically advanced ESCs in the state,” said Pohl. “Without AMX, we simply wouldn’t have been able to achieve this high level of sophistication.”