The new 40,000 SF Math, Science and Technology Center is making learning in the classroom more comfortable at College of the Desert. This spacious facility not only provides ample room for students’ studies, but the technology to engage and enhance their learning experiences as well. The technology in this building allows faculty members to use innovative pedagogy that combines lecture with hands-on lab work, group problem solving, and heavy use of the computers often in the same class session.
All spaces within the building were designed with the future in mind. In order to accommodate growing and evolving technology, each room features a robust infrastructure that supports future lecture capture and videoconference capabilities.
Uniformity and ease of use are the driving factors behind the audiovisual systems in the building. Students and faculty are able to walk into any room, interact with the technology and execute their task unhindered. Dual or single projection systems are available to aid in presentations and lecture discussions, and speech reinforcement is achieved via a speaker system and/or both wired and wireless microphones. At the instructor’s station, users have connectivity for a PC, laptop, digital document camera, and an auxiliary device. The wall and floor connectivity boxes located throughout the rooms provide easy access to power, data and audiovisual connections.
Additionally, the facility houses the college’s new 25-rack Tier II data center. In order to facilitate a smooth transition between the old and new data centers, the construction process simultaneously connected the campus to the new data center while keeping the previous data center functional as long as needed in order to prevent any connectivity issues during the transfer.
