The San Mateo Community College District (SMCCD) is a three-college district serving more than 31,000 students with campuses from San Francisco to San Jose in the Silicon Valley. Offering the first two years of instruction in a wide variety of degree and transfer programs, as well as vocational-technical programs, SMCCD is committed to providing distinct pathways for all students and a successful transition to work.
THE CHALLENGE:
Alexis Arreola, IT Construction Project Specialist, and Yoseph Demissie, Director of Information Technology Support Services at SMCCD wanted to simplify the technology in their rooms and create a consistent and userfriendly experience for students and faculty.
THE SOLUTION:
After several successful deployments, SMCCD began looking to implement Crestron technology in classrooms, conference rooms, auditoriums, and more. With Crestron, SMCCD is able to standardize their spaces with easy-to-use solutions that could be easily replicated across campus.
THE TECHNOLOGY:
With the goal of reducing the amount of equipment in their conference rooms, SMCCD found Crestron Flex to be the perfect solution. Crestron Flex M-Series solutions have not only provided great audio and video quality for calls, but also offer built-in AirMedia® wireless presentation capabilities for content sharing. Beyond the conference rooms, AirMedia has also been a terrific addition in the classrooms across campus. “All of our instructors have been using wireless presentation in their classes and they have shared awesome feedback on its ease of use,” explains Arreola. “In the past, they’ve had difficulties with the systems if they would forget their dongle, but AirMedia has eliminated those complications.” With a variety of programs, from language arts and sciences to police and fire academies, each classroom is built slightly different to support various styles of pedagogy. Regardless of the layout, the brains of each room are derived from a Crestron DigitalMedia™ Presentation System and a Crestron touch screen on the lectern. SMCCD has been able to deploy consistent technologies across their classrooms, and with the .AV Framework™ platform, those installations have gone smoother than ever before. .AV Framework streamlines the configuration of each room and maintains a familiar user experience for faculty and students.
For certain active learning spaces, SMCCD has deployed Crestron DM NVX® AV-over-IP endpoints for advanced content sharing capabilities. Students are able to be separated into groups and project the screen at their table to collaborate with the entire class. DM NVX has provided SMCCD with more flexibility to run content whether it’s from one classroom to another or from a classroom to the cafeteria. On the Skyline Campus, Arreola and Demissie partnered with Rahi Systems to install DM NVX AV-over-IP technology for flexible content distribution in a large event space. With five Crestron Masters programmers on staff, Rahi Systems was able to design a custom UI that would be as intuitive as possible for its new Skyline space. “The DM NVX product line provides our team with the versatility to create a custom user interface for our clients,” explains Kyle Prescott, Director of Engineering at Rahi Systems. “Other solutions are limited with the switching that goes on in the background, but DM NVX provides us with unlimited flexibility.”
With two 4x4 videowalls, Crestron DM NVX provides a user-friendly system that allows SMCCD to host and operate private parties, corporate events, and more without bringing in third party resources. The event space is an impressive destination with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and state-of-the-art content distribution that can be personalized for any event.
RESULTS:
Across campus, both students and administrators have enjoyed the simplicity of a single user interface. No matter the application, Crestron has enabled SMCCD to achieve its goal of delivering a seamless technology experience without disrupting the design elements of the space.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
