Video Conferencing
Our main video conferencing room is located on the fifth floor of the Engineering Building in room 532. The equipment used is a Polycom Viewstation which uses IP technology to establish the call. It allows users to send audio and video between Seattle University and remote locations that have similar video conferencing equipment. This equipment is standards based and is compatible with most new equipment as well as older systems. Depending on the duration and number of calls, there may costs associated with the bandwidth usage. Your department may be charged back for the call, so cost center authorization will be necessary before scheduling a conference.
Scheduling Conferences
When scheduling teleconferences, it is important to determine what equipment will be used and make sure someone is available who knows how to use the equipment. You may reserve the room and system by contacting Classroom Support. Email: itcs@seattleu.edu or contact by phone 206.296.6220. Be sure to schedule sufficient time before and after the meeting for set-up and disassembly of the equipment. Again, the calls may be long distance and are charged by the minute, unless using IP technology. The room and equipment reservations are tentatively scheduled pending call site verification.
When requesting a conference, you will need to have the following information:
- Dates and times of conference
- Site information of who you are conferencing with including a technical contact name and phone number
- The party paying for the conference and a budget number
- A name and phone number of the people you wish to include in the conference
Conferences can not be scheduled without this information. All video conferences must be scheduled a minimum of 10 days prior to your event.
Call Site Verification and Room Use
Site verification is required for any site participating in a conference with Seattle University. This process includes completing a site profile and test call to the remote site to test the voice and video circuits. The site profile information consists of a site name, system phone number(s), user name and phone number, technician name and phone number, and Seattle University department budget number. Seattle University will support administrative and departmental sponsored meetings, lectures, class sessions, student project research, and continuing education when video conferencing is required for the session. Conferences outside of these guidelines will be approved on a case by case basis. We do not support independent Faculty/Staff/Student access for general meeting purposes. General public access or conferences that are not of an academic nature are not supported.
Preparing for Conferences
There are some advance arrangements that will be required to conduct a smooth conference. Expect to spend 30-60 minutes prior to a conference to set up the equipment, test the connections, begin the meeting, introduce the agenda, organize the materials to be displayed, and adjust the seating for proximity to microphones. The preparation required for conducting a conference will vary according to the type of conference you conduct and the content you will be sharing. Please contact Classroom Support at 206.296.6220 to check on your reservation or with specific questions you might have as you prepare for your conference. Classroom Support will schedule a tech to set up the room and the equipment and pre-test it to make sure that everything is working. Every scheduled conference should have a moderator who will be responsible for making sure that participants in both conference rooms can hear and/or see what is going on in both locations. Conference materials need to be prepared: documents for the meeting should be scanned or provided as hand-outs and be prepared in advance, computer files to be shown or transmitted, etc. will need to be stored on network drives or accessible from media (CD, DVD, Flash Drives, etc). In the event that the presenter wants to use their own laptop, extra time may be needed to interface with the equipment.
Training
People who will be facilitating the conference need to be trained in the proper presentation style, use of the equipment, where to stand, how to involve the distant audience in the conference, etc. Training will be provided by request. Email itcs@seattleu.edu.
Troubleshooting
There are times when a call drops off or a meeting encounters technical difficulty. Classroom Support will try to restore connections as soon as possible but usually the trouble area exists outside the University and thus outside our direct control. It may be necessary to take the system down then restart. Please be flexible and have a back-up strategy to allow for extra time for troubleshooting if needed.