Campus Classroom Technologies

Campus Classroom Technologies (CCT), formerly CAVS, is responsible for the design, installation, and ongoing support of audio-visual equipment in all Registrar-controlled classrooms.

We're here to help you Monday to Thursday 8:00am - 9:30pm and Fridays from 8:00am to 4:30pm in the Fall and Winter term.

Looking to find information about teaching and learning spaces on campus?
Check out our new and improved Campus Classroom Directory

We're just a short phone call away at extension 22761, or an email to cct@mcmaster.ca

Technology

Audio / Video Conferencing (Microsoft Teams and Zoom)

Audience Response System (iClicker)

Support for Physical Classroom Spaces

Facility Services manages the physical classroom spaces for classrooms controlled by the Office of the Registrar. This includes maintenance for furniture, lighting, chalkboards, whiteboards, and custodial services (including HEPA filtration units). If your classroom is locked or cannot be accessed, contact Facility Services.

Facility Services Customer Services

Find Support for Educational Technology at Mac

Many of McMaster's institutionally-supported educational technologies are managed by various units. Instructors and staff can use MacEduTech to navigate quickly to available resources and support.

MacEduTech

McMaster's Technology Resources for Instructors

Teaching remotely or in-person? We’ve got you covered. Find services, recommendations, tips and resources for online security, University-provided software and technology and more to support your teaching!

Technology Resources for Instructors

Related Services

In the Classroom

Many classrooms have been upgraded with new presentation equipment since January 2020. Some have also seen furniture upgrades and physical renovations. There has been a movement towards standardizing equipment, increasing user-friendliness and modernizing equipment to blend the in-person and virtual learning environments.

A photograph of a new podium with upgraded technology in a classroom.

Use the Campus Classroom Directory to preview photos of your room, investigate the presentation equipment and personal device connections available to you, and to determine if the room equipment is supported by Campus Classroom Technologies or an independent department on campus.

Campus Classroom Technologies (CCT) is responsible for the design, installation, and ongoing support of audio-visual equipment in classrooms controlled and booked by the Registrar's Office. This accounts for approximately 140 classrooms across campus. The remaining seminar rooms, labs, and instructional spaces are controlled and supported at a departmental level.

Instructors can book a virtual or an in-person consultation with Campus Classroom Technologies (CCT) through cct@mcmaster.ca. It is recommended that instructors visit their classroom prior to their first class to test compatibility between the presentation equipment and their own personal devices and laptops.

The "Technology" tab of CCT's website includes how-to videos and documentation for each piece of audio-video presentation equipment.

*If you have reset your MacID password you will need to forget on campus Wi-Fi networks in order to connect*

In-person / virtual instruction

There may be several technologies available in classrooms to help instructors blend an experience for in-person and virtual students. Consult the Campus Classroom Directory to determine which technologies are available to you.

Echo360

Hardware has been installed in many classrooms on campus to seamlessly integrate Echo360 into the classroom presentation equipment for recording or live streaming. In these rooms, Echo360 records a matching image of the projector screen, so what your in-person students see is also what your virtual students see. Echo360 also records audio from all the room microphones and device sound. All sound that can be heard from the speakers in the room gets recorded by Echo360.

Instructors also have the option to have their recordings or streams scheduled to start automatically. The system has been designed to be user-friendly, so all you have to do is show up and teach.

If your classroom has not been integrated with Echo360 hardware, you can still use Echo360 Universal Capture (Personal) software installed on your personal laptop. With this software, you can record or stream your personal display, webcam and computer microphones from anywhere on campus or at home.

Zoom and Microsoft Teams: Audio/Video Conferencing

Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings can be hosted using the classroom presentation equipment in many upgraded rooms on campus. This feature is listed in the Campus Classroom Directory under Audio/Video Conferencing.

These rooms contain a room camera and microphone system that is integrated to be used during a Zoom/Teams meeting.
The robotic PTZ camera can be controlled from the Crestron touch screen. How to Control the room camera [Video]
The room camera and microphones connect to the podium PC or to a personal laptop. Zoom/Teams meetings can be hosted from either device.

Connecting to your personal laptop:

Personal laptops can connect through an HDMI cable AND a USB-A cable. The HDMI cable connects video from your laptop to projector system for in-person viewers to see on the projector screen. The USB-A cable connects audio and video from the room's camera and microphone system into your computer for virtual Zoom/Teams viewers. The USB-A cable also connects the audio from your computer to the in-room speaker system for the in-person audience to hear. Both connections are needed.
In some rooms, a USB-C cable is available to take care of all the necessary connections.

If your classroom has not been integrated for Audio/Video Conferencing, you can use your personal computer, webcam and microphones to host a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting.

Zoom and Microsoft Teams: Meeting OWL

The Meeting OWL by OWL Labs is a combination speaker, microphone and webcam that can be used to enhance a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting in a classroom that is not already equipped with classroom Audio/Video Conferencing integration.

Instructors can borrow Meeting Owls from the service desks at Mills Library and Thode Library.

Faculty of Social Sciences has created a playlist of instructional tutorial videos for the Meeting OWL.

Classroom Ventilation

As McMaster’s Facility Services continues to prepare campus for the return of more students, staff and faculty members, safety measures are guided by Public Health and the latest scientific research.

McMaster’s Utilities team is working closely with Environmental & Occupational Health Support Services (EOHSS) to ensure that the university ventilation systems are functioning as designed. For fall 2021, McMaster announced a ventilation plan that involved maximizing fresh air and installing MERV-13 filters in buildings with ventilation systems. Classrooms and lecture halls were inspected to meet ASHRAE 62.1, a standard for indoor air quality. Standalone high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter units were installed in buildings without mechanical ventilation systems.

A list of all classrooms and lecture halls on campus, along with the current status of this work can be found on the McMaster Facility Services website.

A comprehensive understanding of McMaster's COVID-19 and ventilation plan can be found on the Back To Mac: Health & Safety website under "ventilation."