Equipment

Powerbook Laptop Computers
EGARC has one Macintosh and ten Windows-based laptop computers available for instructor checkout for short periods. Reservations need to be made well in advance to ensure that all required software is installed. These laptops are intended for short-term use in the classroom only. We may be able to accommodate faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences needing a laptop for off-campus research, but this requires that arrangements be made well in advance.

Mobile Multimedia Carts
EGARC has four mobile multimedia carts, each of which has a laptop, a multistandard VCR/DVD player and an LCD projector. These multimedia carts, which are only available for use in Wescoe, are perfect for class presentations (including Powerpoint) and for showing videos in classes without media equipment.

Televisions/VCRs/DVD players
EGARC provides two mobile TV/VCR/DVD units for use in classrooms in Wescoe. Reservations for this equipment must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Instructors are responsible for picking up the equipment from EGARC and for returning it immediately after their class period.

Mobile Visual Presenter
EGARC has a digital visual presenter, which can be used in any of the multimedia rooms on fourth floor Wescoe or in combination with our mobile multimedia carts described above. These presenters can be used to show overhead transparencies, three-dimensional objects, and images and text from books and slides.

ipod iPods
To assist in the collection of audio for research and evaluation purposes, EGARC provides access to five iPods with attachable microphones. These are perfect for recording oral tests in language classes or for conducting interviews at remote locations. The audio files are stored digitally on the iPod and can be burned onto a CD in almost any format.

Audio Cassette/CD Players
EGARC has a limited number of portable cassette and CD players available on a first-come, first-served basis. Instructors are responsible for picking up the equipment from EGARC and for returning it immediately after their class period.

Digital Video Camera Digital Cameras
To facilitate the collection of materials for projects, the center provides two Canon digital still cameras and four miniDV digital camcorders for faculty checkout. The latter are the perfect complement to the three iMacs with Firewire and iMovie available in our computer lab. Faculty are also invited to do their video editing in faculty work area, where we have a Macintosh G5 equipped with both iMovie2 and Adobe Premiere.

PowerPoint Mice
These mice are designed specifically for PowerPoint presentations, allowing you to control any USB-equipped computer from up to 25 feet away, freeing you up to stand anywhere you wish in the classroom when making a presentation. The y include specialized buttons to start and end the presentation and to advance slides, as well as a laser pointer and a prgrammable timer to keep track of how long you have been speaking. EGARC currently has five mice available for checkout to instructors for use anywhere on campus. These mice are available on a first-come, first served basis and cannot be reserved.

Video Conferencing Equipment polycom
To enable videoconferencing for members of the college faculty and staff, EGARC has two videoconferencing units. One is permanently installed in our conference room and the other is available for checkout. This is the perfect solution for conducting interviews with people unable to come to campus or for long-distance collaboration with faculty and/or students at other universities. You will be able to see and hear the remote location via a television screen (or other multimedia setup) and, depending on the video conferencing unit on the other end, may have control over the camera at the remote site to zoom in and pan around the room. In addition to sending a video feed from the unit's camera, you can also send the remote site information from a visual presenter, a VCR or DVD player, or a computer. For ease of use and setup, EGARC recommends using the equipment in our conference room if at all possible.

Studio Recordings and Digitizing Audio
EGARC has a sound-proof recording booth in which supplementary audio materials may be recorded in analog or digital format. We also have equipment allowing for the direct recording of digital audio and for the transfer of audio from analog to a variety of digital formats. We support conversion from reel-to-reel, audiocassette and records.

Working with Digital Images and Video
The Center provides instructors with access to both flatbed and slide scanners for digitizing images for multimedia and web-based projects, as well as access to Adobe Photoshop for the manipulation of these images. We have two form-feed scanners that can process 30 double-sided pages per minute and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software which allows you to create editable text from any scanned document. For those wanting to work with digital video, we provide both video cameras and the latest in video editing software. We also have equipment to digitize video from VHS tapes for simple editing purposes or to post video segments to the web.