University of Edinburgh

VZ-C6 Visualizers in use during online and hybrid learning classes

The University of Edinburgh is the sixth oldest university in the United Kingdom, and is one of Scotland’s ancient universities. With five main campuses in the city of Edinburgh, and with Nobel laureates, Olympic champions, space explorers and prime ministers among its noted alumni, the University has been influencing history since it opened the gates to its first students in 1583.

The University Library pre-dates the university by three years. Founded in 1580, its collection has grown to become the largest university library in Scotland with over 2.5 million volumes.

Rare books and other items displayed on-screen using a VZ-C6 Visualizer during online classes at The University of Edinburgh

“It was important to us that the Visualizers could integrate seamlessly with the University‘s existing infrastructure, in particular Blackboard Collaborate and Microsoft Teams. It was also important that the equipment was easy to use, as this minimises the time that support staff need to spend training and troubleshooting with staff using the equipment for the first time.

Francesca Baseby CRC Services Manager. - University of Edinburgh

The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) is responsible for providing access to the University of Edinburgh’s cultural and heritage collections. With archived materials ranging from medieval manuscripts to contemporary art, this unique combination of collections is an invaluable resource for teaching within the University, and it attracts researchers from around the world. WolfVision VZ-C6 Ceiling Visualizers, installed in teaching spaces, and controlled conveniently using a connected PC, are used during online and hybrid teaching sessions to assist with the display of rare books, manuscripts, and archives at CDC.

Since switching to a hybrid learning modality during the Covid-19 pandemic, not all students are present on campus, and the WolfVision Visualizers are used to facilitate the continuation of object-based learning online. Academic and specialist staff can show archival documents in their entirety, zooming in closely enough for students to see not just text and handwriting in fine detail, but also details of paper and binding. The Visualizers are also used as part of the University’s online engagement activities, for example during public talks about the collections.

WolfVision‘s Synchronized Lightfield allows for very easy and intuitive positioning of objects during classes. The illuminated part of the working surface is always identical to the pick-up area of the camera, so a user always knows exactly where to place objects or documents. When zooming in and out, the size of this lightfield changes accordingly. Additionally, VZ-C6 Ceiling Visualizers are equipped with a wide-angle camera lens providing a very high depth of focus. This means that even when working with larger 3-dimensional objects, even at high magnification, on-screen images are always sharp from top to bottom.

The VZ-C6 comes with a powerful 48x zoom which enables fine details to be easily shown on-screen in close-up without any loss of image quality.

Teaching with collections is a significant service delivered at the Centre for Research Collections but this type of in-person activity is not possible in light of COVID-19. The WolfVision Visualizers have enabled us to keep delivering such a vital service, and we plan to continue to use the Visualizers going forward for distance teaching.

Francesca Baseby CRC Services Manager - University of Edinburgh

Commenting on the installation Martin Wilson from Audio Light Systems said “We were requested to install the ceiling mounted VZ-C6 Visualizers by Edinburgh University after a successful demo from WolfVision of the unit. We were tasked with installing the units on the ceiling whilst maintaining a discreet and neat looking finish.

The included brackets helped to achieve a secure and straight forward install. This also allowed us to hide all cabling to the unit and not draw any additional focus on the unit. The client was very happy with the finished install and positive feedback was received even after its first use!“

WolfVision is extremely proud to play a supporting role in student education at The University of Edinburgh, and looks forward to providing support and advice to this leading educational institution for many years to come.