Gaithersburg, Maryland, September 24, 2008 – Professional Products, Inc. (PPI) announces the completion of the media technology system today, at the new Sorenson Language and Communications Center on the campus of Gallaudet University located in Washington, DC. Founded in 1864, Gallaudet University is the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. The Sorenson Language and Communication Center is a unique facility that provides an inclusive learning environment totally compatible with the "Deaf Way of Being."
The independent design consultant Technology Design Resources LLC of Rockville MD designed the media systems for the bid process, which PPI won to supply and complete the system build. The media systems are comprised of assistive listening inductive loop systems, voice/data infrastructure and the spaces including classrooms, video teleconferencing (VTC) classrooms, collaboration rooms, labs, atrium, an assistive devices center and digital signage.
Don Bailey, Principal with Technology Design Resources LLC said, “This was a challenging job to integrate the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students into standard classroom technologies. The University was assisted in developing a visu-centric concept for these rooms. The entire building was designed to accommodate the needs of the deaf community. Professional Products has implemented the designs and been flexible in their installation to accommodate the needs of the University. The installation crew, with Senior Project Supervisor Jack McMahan, has done an excellent job of anticipating the needs and schedule of the University and led this project to a successful completion on time and on budget.”
The term visu-centric describes the concept driving the building's look and feel – a place of openness and curves, of natural light and earth colors. Hassle-free visual communication is assured by the center's unobstructed sight lines, the absence of pillars and sharp corners, and the generous use of glass [even the elevator is transparent]. Eye-friendly "smart" technology is ubiquitous throughout the building. Even ambient things that deaf people find distracting, such as vibrations from heating and air conditioning units and certain colors and patterns, have been eliminated.
These classrooms, collaboration rooms, labs, atrium, and assistive devices center spaces have either a 3000, 5500 or 10,000 lumen projectors, various size LCDs ranging from 20” to 65” and DVD/VCR combos for playback or recording. In addition, these spaces contain touch panel systems ranging in size from 5.7” to 17”, which control room technology functions and are contained within the teacher’s console. They include provisions for a laptops, cameras and auxiliary sources. In the halls, there is also interactive digital wall signage and wall mounted TV’s, which have a range of 40” to 52” LCDs, some have interactive touch screen overlays along with a customized application written by Gallaudet for students, staff and visitors to use in getting directions to various area on campus.
"The Sorenson Language and Communications Center is a showcase for the most advanced visu-centric learning technologies," said Dr. Cynthia M. King, dean of Gallaudet's ATLAS Learning Resources. "Our students and faculty depend on those technologies to learn and teach in an optimal environment for deaf and hard of hearing students. From the classrooms to labs to public spaces, the installation team from Professional Products met the highest technical standards under tight deadlines to make sure that this exiting new building was ready for our students and faculty on the first day of classes."
