Lessons Learned
The Good
The ergonomic desks and chairs have been great. Instructors
have the choice of a flat or a ergonomic keyboard. Wireless keyboard will soon
replace all current keyboards.
The blue background color for the classroom has turned out
well. It was selected as the best color for Video Tele-Training and Video
Teleconferencing. It has worked for both areas. Acoustic walls work well when
the walls are real (I.e. with sheet rock) and not simple partitions.
The Classroom control units have proven to be very reliable.
The touch screen operation has provided instructors with great flexibility in
how they want to interact with their students. With the classroom control unit,
instructors can observe/interact with one student, some students or all
students. It’s up to the instructor. Any configuration is possible with a simple
touch on the screen.
We’ve run fast Ethernet to the desktop, rather than ATM, and
this has worked well. So has our "industry standard" MPEG1
video-on-demand.
The entryway flat screen lets visitors to the building
"share" what’s going on in the classroom.
Our equipment enables delivery of "everything" to the
desktop: i.e. text, video, voice, etc.
The Bad
In constructing and operating the ATSC Training Technology
Building, everything didn’t work out exactly the way we planned. Here are some
of the lessons we learned - - the hard way!
THE FLOOR:
We found out the three inch "raised
floor" dimension in the original Classroom XXI specification wasn’t high enough
to accommodate the required cable runs. As a result, Field Classroom XXI specs
have "higher" six inch raised floors to adequately accommodate cables. This has
become the standard.
SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY ISSUES
With the specialized
software, we have to load software for training on one workstation and test it.
Frequently there are still conflicts and some of the facilities’ software has to
be uninstalled. To help solve this problem, we are working toward a "ghost
image" of the workstations with different software loaded. This way we can use
the "ghost image" to load workstations with the proper software
combination.
Remember that no software can be installed on a system
without TRADOC approval. Installation of unapproved software can crash your
entire system. We know - - it’s happened to us.
If unauthorized software does crash your system, let
your site supervisor know immediately. This kind of information can save hours
of troubleshooting.
CABLING
As we said already, we have encountered
problems with cables under the "raised floor" being squashed. We had phone
technicians in here and they put down a few tiles on cables. This causes all
kinds of problems with the PCs, electricity, and sound system. The tiles have to
be checked to find the problem. Sometimes moving the tile off the cable
is enough. But, sometimes the cables have to be replaced. Our solution - any
time the tiles are lifted, the SE or facility manager must be
present.
TNET BOOTHS to BROADCAST ROOMS
We’ve found out the
lighting grids (which are waffle shaped to allow the light to go straight down
normally reducing glare) don’t work well in the booths. The lights cause an
awful glare on the Pen Pal Tablet. The fix we came up with - change to a
regular light cover.
BROADCASTING NOISE
During break time students in
the hall can also cause a lot of noise. Our solution - additional material was
added to the TNET booths to cut down on the noise level coming in and going out
of the rooms. Additional wall covering was added to both classrooms to help ;cut
down on the noise level.
DECISION-MAKING SOFTWARE PROBLEM
We installed a
virus software update. But after installation, our collaborating software
sessions were very slow. The problem resulted because the Virus scan software
was set to check everything! So, it dutifully checked each packet when it was
sent to the server. Then, the server would send it to all the workstations. Our
solution - we set virus scan to accommodate the decision-making software package
and reset it for other training packages.
NETWORK ROOM
The network room is very hot, and the
servers run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Due to the need to cool the
Network room, the rest of the building is very cold all the time. Our solution -
we installed a separate air conditioning unit specifically for the network
room.
TNET SOUND
When conducting a video
teleconferencing in the conference, classroom or broadcast booth session, and
you don’t want to be heard make sure your mikes are muted. We were told
the mikes are directional and you won’t be heard unless you talk right into
them. This is not the case - the mikes are omni-directional and must be
muted.
EQUIPMENT CONTROL
We had TNET class in the
evening. The attendees failed to turn off the equipment and caused some damage
with imbedded images. Our solution - always make sure the equipment is turned
off when it’s not in use. Save yourself unnecessary damage.
TESTING
Test, test, and retest when
integrating or adding new systems! We found out after TNET integration some
strange things were happening with different systems in the building. Our
solution - do a thorough test of everything before the contractors
leave.
PROJECTORS
We found some laptop/PC video cards are
not compatible with our equipment. We’re currently working on a solution with
both the manufacturers of the projectors and the contractors.
NETWORK ROOM
We found the installation of patch
panels allows for more mobility and easier configuration when moving
workstations.
STUDENT RESPONSE UNITS
These are never used
because of the lengthy programming required.
The Ugly
When talking about the air conditioning problems, it should
be noted the Army Corps of Engineers deals with environmental issues. You have
to make sure your liaison with the Corp is regular to make sure these issues are
handled properly. In writing and verbally and continually monitored may avoid
additional expense on your part.
Another environmental issue which can cause problems for
your installation is the energy management plan your post has in effect. Unless
you work with your Department of Public Works, and are granted a waiver, you can
find yourself without sufficient air conditioning to keep your equipment, and
your students, cool enough to function. That’s what happened to us until we were
granted a waiver.
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