In room Chat software / App to the Classroom Support desk?

[Cooper, Aaron]

I am Cross posting this to AV-1 and Media-L, sorry but I wish to cover both groups.

 

History : We currently have 300+ classroom/meeting rooms in 30+ buildings across our Campus. We have our main phone number posted on a sign, on the Creston touch panel and on the presentation PC back ground.

 

What we wish to explore  the options of a Chat Application which can live on the in room presentation computer and on the users smart phone as an App. They would be configured to open up a Chat with our main office for support alerts and even on the fly chat to provide help.

 

We wish to ask the larger community if anyone has looked at or is using any Chat type options which you can suggest we look into.

 

Some details:

 

1.       We do not have Phones in the classrooms for the people to use, and personal cell coverage is spotty at best in several buildings.

2.       We will be looking at the canned type alerts via Crestron and Fusion, but not all rooms would have a Crestron touch panel, those lower tech type rooms.

3.       Not all locations have a in room presentation computer, so we wish to have something that can be placed on a smart phone as well.

 

Thank you in advanced.

 

------------------------------------

Aaron Cooper, InfoComm - CTS

Academic Tech Spec III, Classroom Technologies

LITS - LIbraries & Information Technology Services

Emory University

404-712-2619

 

[jrcla...@gmail.com]

Not sure which touch panels you're using, but we have opted to standardize on TSW panels with SIP. The advantage here is that you can gather metrics through Fusion to see which rooms are giving you the most problems.

You could also look into posting QR codes on your panels or lectern areas. These can encode pertinent contact info, or links to your chat stuff.