Ritsumeikan University (Rits) has selected the Bose Professional Videobar VB1 all-in-one USB conferencing device as part of a technology strategy to ensure students’ needs are met both in and out of the classroom.
Among western Japan’s four leading universities, Rits comprises16 faculty teams, 21 graduate schools and 35,000 students accommodated across four campuses – Suzaku (Kyoto), Biwako-Kusatsu (Shiga), Kinugasa (Kyoto) and Osaka Ibaraki, the newest campus. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the university needed to quickly identify technology that would allow their instructors to continue teaching students while the country dealt with lockdowns and limited movement.
‘In April 2020, a state of emergency was declared due to the global pandemic, and as a result, online classes were mainly one-way during the spring semester,’ says Kengo Kurashina, member of the Information Infrastructure Section team of the Information Systems Department, describing how lessons were made available for students to watch. ‘However, there were many requests from students and teachers for two-way communication.’
Recognising the need for technology to support a more collaborative experience, the university explored the options available and selected equipment that provided combined audio and video capabilities for the small classrooms. With the decision made, Kurashina explains, ‘We moved quickly to install the remote distribution equipment in all of its 620 classrooms.’
By the fall 2020 semester, theOsaka Ibaraki Campus (OIC) began conducting hybrid classes with both face-to-face and remote students attending at the same time. For classes held in medium sized classrooms, the university realised they needed technology that combined microphone performance to capture audio throughout the space; a camera that could capture the entire classroom from a wider angle; and high-performance loudspeakers that could deliver clear audio to the entire classroom.
The VB1 brings premium audio and video to small- to medium-sized learning areas, providing critical features – like beam-steering microphones and 4K ultra-HD video – supporting the hybrid collaboration so critical in today’s evolving educational landscape. Since two-way communication between professors and students was key, the six beam-steering mics made conversation more natural, actively focusing on voices while rejecting ambient noise; plus, the auto EQ delivers optimal audio to all participants. And it met the exacting needs outlined by the university. ‘When we installed the Bose VB1 in a medium-sized classroom, the audio was transmitted clearly to the students who were participating remotely. And the VB1’s high-quality microphone performance was handy in situations where students were socially distanced throughout the classroom,’ says Kurashina
In addition to crisp image resolution, the 4K ultra-HD camera provides autoframing, which allows everyone to see and understand the content instructors present on whiteboards, flipcharts or other in-room objects, encouraging a ‘same location’ feel.
‘The Bose VB1 provided clear high-quality audio to remote students and the beam-steering microphones easily picked up students socially distanced throughout the room,’ says Kengo Kurashina ‘I was also extremely pleased with the sound-masking exclusion zone feature provided; I can easily hear what students are saying because of the audio quality and clarity Bose is known for.’
More: https://pro.bose.com
