Multimedia Classroom

• Power up the system
  • Locate the control panel located on the top of the multimedia desk.
  • Push the ‘Power On’ button to power up the projection equipment.
• Select the device you wish to use
  • Turn on the power switch of the device you wish to display on the projection screen. Devices include computer, laptop, Blu-Ray and document camera.
  • Select this device on the control panel.

To use a classroom computer:

• Turn on the computer.
• Select the computer option from the control panel.
• Log in to the classroom computer with your MUN username and password.
• Select the software you want to use for your presentation. Multimedia classrooms have dedicated Windows-based computers with the following software:
  • Microsoft Office (including PowerPoint)
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Google Chrome
  • Adobe Reader
  • VLC

Instructors can also request the installation of additional, properly licensed software on classroom computers.

• Turn on the Blu-Ray player.
• Insert your disk and push the button labeled ‘Blu-Ray’ from the control panel.
• To control the Blu-Ray, use the control panel or the buttons on the Blu-Ray.
• Use the volume controls on the control panel to adjust the audio level.

A document camera is a camera that picks up live images and allows you to view them over any display device. It is flexible enough to view a piece of paper, a transparency, a 3-dimensional object, a 35mm slide, an x-ray or even a large item or person in a room. The document camera is known by many names, such as visual presenter and visual copy stand. To use it in a multimedia classroom, follow the steps below.

• Locate the document camera on top of the multimedia desk.
• Turn on the power switch located on the document camera.
• Push the button labeled ‘Doc Cam’. Once you select the document camera you can use the control panel buttons or the buttons on the document camera to make adjustments.
• If you are using overhead transparencies turn on the ‘Back’ light. For all other objects use the ‘Top’ lights.
• While looking at the video monitor in the desk, use the focus and zoom buttons to adjust your image. A document camera may not have enough resolution to show the fine detail without zooming in on part of the object.

Tips for improving the image from a Document Camera

Text size: Text should be 24pt. font size or larger. Prepare material for the visual presenter as if for a PowerPoint presentation — no more than 8-10 lines of text on a screen. If you really need to use smaller text you will have to zoom in and pan (move the material) to show a part of it at a time.

Zoom and focus: Zoom in to text as closely as possible, then press the auto focus. Put a black background behind a picture or zoom up so there is no light border around the picture to allow the document camera to focus only on the picture.

Dark images: If an image appears dark on the screen try adjusting the visual presenter’s lighting arms or iris control to improve the image. (The iris controls can be found on document camera’s control panel.

Problem images: Try the negative switch to get rid of too much white in the text image. The negative control can be found on the visual presenter’s control panel. Push this button to create a negative of the displayed image.

• Connect the cables to your laptop (extending from a plate in the top of the desk).
• Turn on your laptop.
• Push the button labeled ‘Laptop’ on the control panel.
• Depending on the make and model of your laptop, you may have to use your function keys to enable your laptop’s video output port (usually Fn +F5 or F7).

Tips for using a laptop

• Become familiar with how to enable your laptop’s video output. For more information consult the documents that came with your laptop.
• The projection systems in the multimedia rooms can display a maximum resolution of 1920 X 1080. You have to make sure the video output of your laptop is not set to a higher resolution.
• Connect the cables to your laptop (extending from a plate in the top of the desk).
• Turn on your laptop.
• Push the button labeled ‘Laptop’ on the control panel.
• Depending on the make and model of your laptop, you may have to use your function keys to enable your laptop’s video output port (usually Fn +F5 or F7).
• If your presentation has audio you may need to adjust the volume controls on the multimedia desk and your laptop computer.

• Remove disks from the computer and Blu-Ray player.
• To turn the system off, push the ‘OFF’ button on the control panel.
• Once you select ‘YES’ the projector will enter a 90-180 second cool down cycle. You do not have to wait for this to expire before leaving the room.

1. Leave the classroom computer ON when finished.

Classroom PCs should be left running at all times so that they can receive their scheduled security updates and virus scans. These are often scheduled after class hours to avoid disruption, but pending updates could be applied during the first bootup beyond those scheduled times. This can delay the start of a lecture due to disruption of usage where an instructor is unable to login and load their lecture materials until the updates are complete. By leaving the PC on at all times, you ensure it is receiving its updates as planned and is in a readied state for the next instructor scheduled in that room.

2. Sign out of the classroom computer after your class.

When you log in to a classroom PC for instructional use, you may able to log in to other services via your browser such as Brightspace, personal/work email and cloud storage. These sessions often remain logged in after you have closed the browser and someone accessing your desktop after you have left the room could gain access to these services this way. It is very important that you log out of the classroom PC after ever lecture and if you enter a classroom and see that the PC is still logged in from the previous class that you log of that session before you use it.

To sign out, click the ‘Start’ button and then navigate to the User icon. From there, click on the User icon and then click the option ‘Sign Out’. This will sign out your user session but keep the PC in a readied state for the next instructor. You can also refer to the Sign Out of Windows Microsoft resource.