Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) is a 2-year public college that was established as the nation's first vocational and adult education system in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1911. As a technical learning center, FVTC offers high-tech occupational training for today's workplace, featuring specialized centers that replicate real-world scenarios to prepare students and refine their skills across 70 associate degree offerings.
The challenge
Spanning 12 campuses, FVTC is comprised of nearly 400 classrooms, meeting rooms, executive offices, and conference centers equipped with state-of-the-art technology. These areas are all managed by a three-person AV team, which means efficient technology management is essential. Partnering with Automation Arts, FVTC’s AV Services Manager, Brandon Landwehr, and his team began implementing new classroom standards.
The solution
This new effort sought out solutions that would benefit the faculty and students in the classrooms today, while also evolving with them over time. All classrooms are standardized in terms of technology and layout, ensuring a consistent experience for faculty, especially adjunct professors. The Crestron ecosystem was the perfect fit for these needs, with FVTC relying on the Crestron DM NVX® AV-over-IP platform, AirMedia® wireless collaboration systems, Crestron intelligent video solutions, and the XiO Cloud® management platform.
The technology
Standard classrooms rely on the DM Essentials lineup and Crestron control to provide a streamlined point-to-point connectivity for classroom materials to be shared. Faculty know what they expect when they enter these spaces, so connecting to the system is seamless, no matter which campus they might be teaching on that day. FVTC is in the process of adding more multi-purpose rooms to the campus to maximize space. Designed with longevity in mind and to support evolving learning environments, DM NVX technology was selected as the backbone for these divisible classroom setups due to its flexibility and reliability.
Specialized learning environments, such as culinary classrooms, baking labs, and dental hygiene labs, outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, deliver a hands-on and experiential approach for practical training. AirMedia wireless presentation systems are paired with PTZ cameras to provide connectivity to the in-room monitors, offering additional views of demonstrations. For example, in the kitchens, each culinary workstation features a display that utilizes AirMedia technology to provide students with a personalized view of the lesson or lecture notes. Adaptable to future instructional needs, the content can be modified for every lesson, allowing students to view the materials that best suit their class needs for that day.
To support administration, the boardroom adopted the same approach, emphasizing ease of use and best-in-class reliability. The Crestron intelligent video portfolio provides a multi-camera system that makes hybrid meetings effortless. The Automate VX system is paired with eight 1 Beyond p-Series to capture in-room participants from every angle. Multiple displays around the room ensure that content is always within view, as are remote participants when a hybrid meeting is in session. The system provides clear visibility of everyone at the large table, ensuring the experience feels natural and connected to bridge the gap between in-room and virtual attendees. The seamless environment is fully automated, empowering administrators to focus on their goals without worrying about the technology supporting them.
While embracing technology solutions has created learning environments that are ready to grow with faculty and students, the classroom workflows have tasked the AV team with even more to manage. The XiO Cloud platform has been instrumental in maintaining smooth operations across the college. Landwehr and his team can mitigate issues before they impact faculty or students. The platform is heavily utilized to monitor device uptimes for proactive resolution when challenges arise. FVTC emphasizes this approach to AV support, which frees their team to focus on planning future innovative deployments and skill development rather than reactive troubleshooting.
The results
With the Crestron solutions portfolio, FVTC was able to maintain technology standards across a plethora of environments, from industrial kitchens to standard boardrooms. The consistent approach has delivered top-tier solutions that have modernized custom learning environments that remain manageable for the IT team to manage, despite the scale and scope of their room portfolio.
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.
