TEKVOX Solutions Drive Incubator Classroom at Vista Ridge High School in Texas

TEKVOX Drop-In AV® technology is at the heart of the innovative INCubator entrepreneurship development facility at Vista Ridge High School.  The INCubator faculty leads student teams through the startup and funding of an actual new business and features industry expert lecturers andmentors to nurture real-world startup skills. The ‘INC’ classroom itself is among the most advanced K12 classrooms in the country featuring 4K huddle stations for each business team, a 4K video wall with ‘whole room’ video conferencing capability and centralized control/coordination at the instructor’s finger tips.   collaboration to each individual team, as well as a connected collaboration system for sharing content among groups.

TEKVOX solutions were the ideal choice to equip and control the six student huddle stations or “pods” in the classroom.  Each pod can operate independently, offering seamless 4K multiview content sharing to the team.  Additionally, the instructor can present content from a PC, laptop or other source on the main videowall and share thatcontent by displaying it on some or all of the student pods’ displays.  Instructors can also share any pod’s output to the main display, or to the other pods, for an extremely versatile array of sharing opportunities.  

The entire system is managed via TEKVOX TekManager® software, which allows for easy control, asset protection, occupancy-based automation and remote support.  From the front of the room, the instructor has control of all of the room’s displays and microphones, as well as video routing to and from every student pod. Two high-resolution PTZ cameras provide fully-controllable live video of the instructor and students allowing for lecture recording and remote collaboration.

TEKVOX equipment comprises key components of the six student pods.  Each pod features a TEKVOX MV71-4K multiview switcher with the ability to display up to four student inputs simultaneously on the screen.  A Shure MX395B/C microphone feeds audio from each table to the system’s DSP.  A TEK3 control system provides control of the pod’s video switching, along with control and anti-theft protection for the 55-inch 4K display.  HDBaseT transmission technology carries the pod’s video output without compression or signal loss to the system’s matrix switcher.  An output signal is then sent back from the matrix to the pod’s display.

The instructor podium is outfitted with a permanent desktop PC, as well as HDMI and USB-C connections for a laptop or tablet.  Using TEKVOX ShareView™ technology, an instructor can start or join a web-based video conference; the instructor may use either of the room’s cameras in the conference and share content from the room using the built-in screensharing function. This feature also allows for lecture capture using the videoconferencing service’s interface with no need for additional software licenses.  The instructor’s user interface offers full control of the entire room, as well as a live preview of the currently selected video source using TEKVOX TekTouchView™, a combination user interface and confidence monitor.

Primary room switching is handled by the TekFlex-32 flexible matrix switcher, which is capable of routing any input to any output independently and seamlessly, all in 4K resolution.  The TekFlex-32 accepts inputs from each of the six student pods, the two room cameras, the instructor’s sources and a digital signage player, which is custom-programmed for the campus and room.  Outputs return to each of the student pods, feed camera video and content to the PC’s ShareView software and pass the main video to a processor for the videowall.  Another TEK3 housed behind the main display handles the occupancy-based automation of the system and the control, asset protection and switching of the videowall.

The instructor can preview any source on the podium confidence monitor simply by selecting it; that source may then be shown on any display.  The instructor can also mute or un-mute their own or any of the students’ microphones in the room.  The main videowall can show a single video source or up four sources in any of five different configurations.

Students can display up to four separate sources simultaneously on their pod’s display, with each source in full 1080p resolution, for unparalleled collaboration.

Additionally, the system can be configured to show digital signage on the main videowall when it is not in use, according to the customer’s preference.

 “TEKVOX is extremely proud that our equipment has been chosen to facilitate and control the Incubator classroom at Vista Ridge,” says TEKVOX CEO Jim Reinhart.  “TEKVOX provides efficient, easy to use solutions that make student teamwork and even wider collaboration seamless and professional.”