VLS Courtroom Featured in Campus Technology
Villanova Law’s innovative courtroom video recording system was featured in Campus Technology, a higher education technology magazine that highlights advanced uses of technology in learning. The article focused on the design of Villanova Law’s video recording system that puts the control of the cameras and recording completely in the hands of the professor.
One of the great features of the new Law School building is that every classroom and courtroom is equipped with multiple cameras to record presentations from different perspectives. Previously, professors and media staff faced a difficult problem. The system always required at least two people, one to teach the class and one to operate the camera. To solve this problem, professors and the Academic Computing department collaborated to develop a system that would allow professors sitting at the judge’s bench to record directly without the assistance of media staff.
Once the Academic Computing department determined the professor’s needs, they worked with Control Concepts, Inc. to create an intuitive touchpanel interface that allows the professor to quickly change cameras to capture the action of a fast-paced courtroom setting. The courtroom has three cameras, each mounted on a different wall. The touchpanel gives the professor the ability to pan, tilt and zoom all three cameras, thus allowing the capture of everything in the room. The touchpanel also allows the professor to view two windows, one displaying the preview shot and one displaying the actual recording. The ability to view both windows simultaneously allows the professor to seamlessly switch cameras during recording. The result is a high-quality recording that captures exactly what the professor wants the student to see. More importantly, the student immediately receives a DVD so that she can visually learn from her mistakes and ultimately improve her performance.
The article can be read at http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/06/08/lecture-capture-on-trial.aspx. As the article indicates, Villanova Law continues to stay on the forefront of incorporating technology in the classroom to better serve the needs of its students.
