New LSC facilities will get latest technology

By BETH KUHLES
CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT:
The new facilities and major renovations at the Lone Star College System will include uniform, state-of-the-art technology for students and staff.
The Lone Star College Board approved a single contractor to develop the information technology standards and design for 11 new facilities planned on five campuses.
On April 1, the board extended the contract for TechKnowledge to plan IT services for 12 other buildings and renovation projects system wide.
One of our objectives across all campuses was to be the most technologically savvy college system in Texas," said Richard Carpenter, chancellor of the college system. Many of our students take courses at more than one college. We are one college. We need the same level of experience no matter where you are in the system."
The new technology will include wireless access for all buildings on every campus.
It also includes digital signs that can target specific messages for students and staff in each building.
It helps in getting the messages out to students," said Shah S. Ardalan, vice chancellor and chief information officer for the Office of Technology.
All classrooms will be equipped with projection systems that can plug into computers or can display items on a screen. The equipment has a remote control system that can be operated from offcampus, allowing technical support in its operations.
Video conferencing equipment will be available in large lecture halls to allow professors to teach classes at several campuses simultaneously or to allow students to access the lecture live via the Internet.
The system also has the capability of lecture capture, which can record lectures for later review, said Michael A. Cannetti, director of TechKnowledge.
Students will be able to look at the lecture as many times at they want," Ardalan said.
In libraries, students will have better access to more and newer computers.
The college has committed to replacing laptops every three years and desktop units every four, Ardalan said.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Among the major new facilities targeted for the new technology are:
LSC Cy-Fair: Health Science, Student Services, Satellite Campus at Clay and Fry roads.