Ruffatto Hall Offers State-Of-The-Art Facilities and Technology
Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall, newly opened in fall 2010, is the $21.4 million, 73,568-square-foot home of the MCE. It offers state-of-the-art facilities and will meet at least LEED silver certification. In addition to 9 classrooms, there are 14 meeting and conference rooms, three with video conferencing, two Cisco TelePresence rooms, and numerous spaces throughout the building equipped with chairs, tables, whiteboards, plasma screens and/or network connections for collaborative work. Many of the classrooms in Ruffatto Hall are equipped with a computer, projector and projection screen, inter-active whiteboards and two input panels with audio, video and Ethernet connections. Six of the classrooms also have a 42" LCD monitor. Each classroom allows projection to any or all of these monitors, screens or boards.
Morgridge College of Education Technology
Cisco TelePresence
The Morgridge College of Education houses two Cisco Telepresence video conferencing systems. The Cisco TelePresence system is ideal for multipoint group meetings such as operational reviews, status update meetings, and presentations. It also enables geographically dispersed teams to collaborate in one-on-one meetings and general working sessions, while being located in different cities, states, or even countries. Cisco Telepresence is an excellent tool for productive face-to-face collaboration and the experience is as good as actually being in the same room with the other participants, however, the attendance of the meeting at DU can only be 6-12 people.
Smart and Promethean Boards
SMART Board and Promethean interactive whiteboards help to improve learning outcomes. Combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer, the interactive whiteboards assist in the delivery of dynamic lessons, allow you to write notes in digital ink, and save your work - all with the simple touch of a finger. This technology also creates opportunities for collaborative learning. There are also various accessories available for each of these systems including "response clickers" and "slates."
Collaborative Work Stations
Flat panel televisions are mounted throughout the building and students can simply connect their computers to these devices for group viewing. A majority of the furniture in the building is movable allowing students to create their own unique work and study spaces.
Cisco VOIP Phones
All of the telephones within Katherine A. Ruffatto hall are Cisco VOIP enabled. The audio quality of these phones is excellent. All phones also have a built in bridge allowing you to link in multiple participants into a single call without paying for a traditional telephone bridging service.
Installed Classroom Computers
All classrooms within the building are equipped with a computer that is already connected to the projection screens within the room. All the computers have Microsoft Powerpoint as well as many other programs installed on them. Users can simply bring in a USB drive and plug it into the computer and load their presentation. The computers also are all installed with the program Skype and anyone that needs to bring in a guest via Skype can simply load the program, plug in a webcam, and host a guest speaker or participant quickly and easily.
Video Conferencing
One of the classrooms within Ruffatto Hall (Classroom 122) is equipped with a built in video conference system. The system has two remote controlled cameras and boasts a high definition quality video and audio. Traditional video conferencing provides users with a more personal interaction than a telephone conference and can accommodate various group sizes depending on the room it is setup in. Video conferencing is being used more frequently to bring outside guests into a classroom virtually, or bring an entire class into discussions with another class across the country that may be studying the same thing.
Crestron Control Panels
Gone are the days when handheld remote controls are used to turn on and off a projector and select different inputs all the while hoping that the button you press will be the right one. All classrooms and boardrooms have built-in Crestron control panels. These panels are easily identifiable and easy to use. A single location in each room for controls to be placed allows a stranger to the room to come in and easily turn on the audio and video system with just a few button presses on the control panel.
Observation rooms
There are 12 different "observation rooms" in the Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall that have built in cameras and a centralized control room that can monitor and record simultaneously all 12 rooms at the same time. These rooms are used for psychology intervention sessions and specialized discussion classes.
Centralized Control Room
A centrally located control room allows all audio and video signals in the entire facility to be monitored and routed to any room within the facility. This can be highly advantageous if an event happening in one room needs to be projected into another room or multiple rooms. The Control room also houses all video conferencing technologies as well as miscellaneous parts and pieces that are used on a daily basis, such a clickers, microphones, cables, and speakers.
Digital Signage System
Display TV's located on the first floor and fourth floor help students in guiding and knowing about current schedules and upcoming events. These monitors can also help in displaying special announcements and even emergency information.
Wi-Fi
The entire building is equipped with Wi-Fi allowing students to use their mobile devices and laptops to access the internet easily.
