Though offered extensive and well-organized training opportunities, both in person and on the internet, many members of SF State faculty waste class time struggling to use computers and other technology in the school's electronically enhanced classrooms.

Before every semester, the Department of Academic Technology's Laurie Sosna said she sends an email to department heads that asks faculty to prepare for the custom-built control consoles they will encounter in various classrooms and lecture halls around campus. Some faculty come for training every semester, and some never come at all.

"A lot of teachers don't want to come to campus before they have to," Sosna said of the pre-semester training.

The consoles offer many features including wireless microphones, projectors and the ability to connect with a laptop. When something goes wrong, professors can spend valuable class time trying to figure out the problem themselves or calling for troubleshooting help from one of Academic Technology's student workers, according to technology distribution manager David LaCosta.

"The students just have to go over there to mumble with it," LaCosta, who oversees the student workers, said, "A lot of our professors just can't handle it."

With an average of 15 classes a day using the various features of the consoles, the equipment itself is sometimes "manhandled" and will break down on its own, Sosna said.

"Stuff breaks--it's technology," she said, stressing the importance of a backup plan and adding that "a lot of teachers are so tied to the technology that they don't think they can teach without it."

One professor who uses the console in Humanities 202 to play DVDs on a regular basis, Dr. Mercilee Jenkins, also said problems stemmed from other instructors mistreating the equipment.

"I think they work pretty well, " Jenkins said of the consoles, "But they're hard to maintain with so many people using them."

Another instructor, a psychology professor who refused to give her name due to her relationship to staff in Academic Technology, said she had trouble showing movies through the console that she uses.

"The concept is good, but the challenge is that not everyone knows how to take care of the equipment," she said.

While many things can go wrong, the most frequent problem is the connection of a laptop to the equipment, according to Sosna.

One student, 23-year-old Michael Davos, once arrived to a class prepared to give a Powerpoint presentation as part of a project but found his instructor couldn't figure out how to hook up a laptop to the console.

"I was frustrated after all of the work I put into it," Davos, a BECA major, said.

Another BECA major, Jazlyn Trent, 21, said she hasn't had any problems with her instructors using with the consoles.

In-person training takes approximately 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the professor's projected needs for the class, Sosna said.

"Most teachers, when they understand the basics, they can figure out any of them," Sosna said of the training.

Every room with a console has a specific link on the Academic Technology website that leads to a practical explanation of how to use the console's features. The same instructions are included in a short manual near the console, and important parts are labeled on the actual machine along with the number to call for support from Academic Technology.

"They expect it to be like Star Trek," Sosna said, "A lot could do it on their own, they just don't realize it."

Students working for Academic Technology respond to calls for help two to three times a day, according to LaCosta. Since instructors don't always call for assistance when a problem arises, it is difficult to say how often faculty experience problems using the consoles.

Smart Classrooms for dummies

The most common problem people have with the consoles is running laptop, below is the instructions as dictated by information technology consultant Laurie Sosna.

The instructions below are specifically for the Unit in HSS 154, and they will be installing three of the same unit in the Science building before the fall semester 2008. For instructions on every aspect of every console go to: http://www.sfsu.edu/~avitv/eec.html

Step one: Make sure the laptop is turned off.

Step two: Turn on the console Main Power switch located in the upper right corner of the equipment rack. The Extron panel lights will cycle as it powers up.

Step 3: Locate the white Extron panel mounted on the front of the console.
Press the PROJECTOR ON button once. The projector will take about 25 seconds to warm up, don’t press anything during this period, it is probably working!

Step 4: Press the button marked LAPTOP.

Step 5: Locate the VGA Cable on the left side of the console on a hook. Attach the cable to the VGA connector on your laptop.

Step 6: Line up the connector carefully and do not force the connection. There are very delicate pins inside and if damage they can corrupt the image on screen. You can tighten the screws to secure connection. Again, be gentle—don’t tighten too tight.

Step 7: TURN ON YOUR LAPTOP LAST, this is the last thing you do. A common mistake is to plug in an already running laptop.
Troubleshooting: If the computer image is cut off or jumping, then press the AUTO PC ADJ button on the Extron panel.
DISPLAY MUTE: Will cause the projected image to go black.
DISPLAY UNMUTE: Will return the image to normal.
TO SHUT DOWN: Press the PROJECTOR OFF button ONCE. Disconnect the VGA cable from the laptop and return it to the hook, Turn off the console main power switch.