The Herak 106 multimedia classroom facilitates the videotaping of Nursing Department classes. Distanced based students who normally cannot attend class due to time and space constraints depend upon these tapes sent to their home each week. A sample of the geographic range for "Distance Ed" students includes Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and continental states of the Western US. It would not be uncommon to send tapes as far as Germany for military personnel enrolled at Gonzaga University. This program is now in its 15th year and was the first of its kind in magnitude on the GU campus. It is considered the successful test bed for more recent facility additions campus wide.

The distance education classroom consists of a series of microphones, several cameras, and in-class A/V support to allow video producers, located in the adjacent control room, to capture and preserve the whole class in real time onto VHS cassettes. Professor's PowerPoint files and printed documents are also mixed into the whole process to yield a seamless yet totally encapsulated classroom production.

Quality control is always high on the priority list. The producers strive to maintain clear audio, especially during question and answer sessions, as well as video throughout the process. There is always someone "behind the scene" making adjustments each minute. Likewise, the facility is maintained to industry standards, utilizing only professional equipment found in a television studio.

Producers handle a typical fall schedule of 13 hour days with back-to-back classes. More than 450 VHS tapes are cut in any given week. The tapes are processed daily with little room for error. Throughout the semester, the tapes are returned by students and then bulk erased; ready for the next taping session.

Our staff is committed to excellent service to all faculty and students who utilize the distance education facility. The Instructional Technology Support Services Department is continually improving the way each class is "delivered".