Excellence Gateway
Published: 16 September 2009
This case study was produced by JISC RSC (Regional Support Centres) Northwest on behalf of the Excellence Gateway.
Sector relevance: Further education and Sixth Form colleges
Keywords: Improving responsiveness to learners, improving institutional effectiveness, accessibility, value for money, facilities management, management of teaching resources, 14–19, audibility, microphone, speakers, amplifier
Southport College has been improving audibility in classrooms by installing a ceiling-mounted microphone at the front of the room above the interactive whiteboard. Linked to an amplifier and ceiling-mounted speakers, this distributes sound clearly and evenly across the classroom.
Southport College is an independent further education college located in Southport town centre. The College specialises in vocational courses, offering a range of qualifications, including BTECs, NVQs, CACHE awards, City & Guilds qualifications, and the new Advanced Diplomas, in subjects from Hair and Beauty Studies or Forensic Science to Childcare or Games Design and Animation. It also provides part-time and full-time courses to over 3,000 adult learners, many of them are supported by their employers on courses delivered in the workplace.
After studying research materials about audibility of the spoken word and electronically produced audio in classrooms, Iain Petrie-Brown, Multimedia & Digital Content Developer at Southport College began to reflect on issues of ambient noise and clarity of speech in teaching areas.
In particular, computer labs generated noise via fans in PCs making it difficult for students to hear tutors clearly. However, this was by no means the only source; others included noise from:
Having determined that these noise sources could not easily be removed, Iain was prompted into thinking about what the College could do to resolve the problem within a reasonable budget.
As a starting point, Iain considered what he didn't want the system to involve:
Using two computer classrooms for a trial, Iain chose to install a suspended microphone, amplifier and ceiling-mounted speakers.
The microphone, amplifier and speakers have cost around £200-250 for each classroom. Iain notes that if these elements are incorporated into the full AV fit-out of a classroom (along with data projector and whiteboard etc.) rather than retrospectively, costs are similar to those of the amplifier and speakers that would previously have been selected for the AV fit-out.
Incorporating the system into rooms where there are suspended ceilings has been relatively easy - wiring is easy to get at, and the fitting of microphone and speakers within individual ceiling tiles is straightforward.
In line with his original intent, Iain developed a system that appeared ‘always on', thus avoiding burdening tutors (especially as the College has a significant number of part-time tutors) with something else to have to remember to get their classroom up-and-running.
In the early trials, amplifier and microphone would automatically be switched on when the PC and data projector were powered up. In some later installations, it was possible to link the amplifier power to the lighting (through an isolation circuit), so that when lights are switched on via a sensor when someone enters the room, the amplifier and microphone are automatically switched on too.
The microphone comfortably picks up a tutor's voice from distances up to around four feet or so in front of the interactive whiteboard. The suspended ceilings and carpets (consistent in most of the rooms where they have installed the system) are also beneficial, helping to dampen any unwanted reverberation.
Having tested settings to get the correct balance for a tutor's voice over ducked audio, Iain is able to use the same settings in other teaching rooms which use the same equipment.
The only downside to the system is that tutors have to avoid one-to-one conversations with students within the area picked up by the microphone because such conversations would, of course, be relayed throughout the classroom. For one-to-one conversations the tutors must move out of range to their computer desk, for example.
Following successful trials of the system, use has now been extended beyond computer rooms, and is being incorporated into some new and refurbished classrooms.
The system is currently used in around 12 classrooms but will not, at this stage, become part of the standard AV fit-out for all classrooms; Iain says that the College has incorporated it where a specific need is identified, and where time and money makes it feasible.
The system has alleviated the issues which had previously made it very difficult for students to hear their tutors easily and consistently.
Iain has had requests from staff for the system to be installed in other classrooms; these staff members have been impressed that they don't have to raise their voices to enable students to hear them clearly, and say the students have said they would like to see the system installed in other classrooms too.
As advice for others, Iain recommends installing ceiling-mounted speakers, even if not fitting a microphone, because the sound from video and audio is distributed consistently to the class compared with speakers at the front of the room. He notes that a number of speakers (the maximum number limited by amplifier output power) can be linked to a 100 volt line amplifier as simple parallel connections, with no complications.
Where possible, he also recommends getting a contractor to fit the system, partly because it can be a dirty job at times dealing with suspended ceilings, but mainly because contractors tend to be familiar with all aspects of the installation and can work hours outside classroom timetables.
Iain says that the aim is to make everything as simple and effective as possible for tutors; the combination of microphone, amplifier and speakers has certainly achieved this:
"It's not because the tutors aren't capable of operating the equipment, but if it's simple it's one less thing for them to worry about so they can get on with their teaching."
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