Harrisburg University: Innovation by Design

Harrisburg University offers demand-driven undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs  in applied science and technology fields for a diversity of student learners.  It is the only private, science and technology-focused comprehensive university located between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  It was this focus on technology that allowed  Vistacom the opportunity to work with Harrisburg University to integrate comprehensive audiovideo systems into the $73-million Academic Center which includes 16 stories of state-of-the art classroom space, scientific teaching labs, meeting areas, seminar rooms,  and a 125-seat auditorium.  One of the unique features of the AV technology at Harrisburg is that it is all tied into their network.  This allows for live streaming from classrooms as well as archiving for future viewing. There are currently three Mediasite EX platforms  which allows the campus to schedule, organize, index, customize, secure and track  recorded content.  " Our Mediasite system has been very effective so far. We record and archive regular classes and special presentations.  We also have outside clients who come in to use our system," stated Keith Thomas, AV Specialist for Harrisburg University.  "Most recently PMAA (Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association) recorded a live webcast which was broadcast out to 70+ outside computers.  After the live webcast, I also cut them a DVD of the event, all using MediaSite.  We also hosted LEEF (Learning and Entertainment Evolution Forum) 2009, which was a 2 day conference on learning technologies.  We successfully recorded 12 separate presentations and are now working to edit them and stream them back out to the online community.

"Harrisburg University serves as a great model on how to successfully implement video streaming and presentation capture technology in conjunction with other AV and Network technologies, and then parlay that investment into a successful and recurring revenue stream.," stated Rodger Wagner, applications engineer for Vistacom. "Technologies like these give organizations a way to reach previously untapped revenue opportunities by providing live or stored content on a pay-for-view or subscription basis."