Smart campus is gaining popularity, but there is certain number of smart campus that is not smart in a true sense because it is not providing adequate automation and centralized control needed. School principals are frustrated about high smart campus operation costs and unsatisfactory campus automation, school IT administrators are often struggling in dealing with device control, management and maintenance, while teachers are complaining about complex and inconvenient device operations. However, all these problems and concerns can be easily addressed by Q-NEX solution which helps reduce overall smart campus running cost and manpower cost, and reduces IT administrator’s workload with improved work efficiency, while freeing teachers from worries of using all the classroom devices.

This article will focus on the Q-NEX classroom automation solutions, revealing how Q-NEX solution can offer you a genuine smart campus with minimized cost but with maximized efficiency.

• What is Q-NEX solution?

Before we go further, it would be necessary for us to get to know what the Q-NEX solution in terms of the concept of the solutions and the key devices in the solutions. As far as the concept is concerned. Q-NEX Solution allows you to:

• Minimize your devices wiring with one cable connection
• Bring all the campus devices into a central and unified control
• Control and manage the devices remotely over Q-NEX web portal.
• Conduct cloud-based storage

These are the basic concept of Q-NEX solution. And the two key devices are the Networked Media Processor (NMP) and Media Box (MBX). These two devices in instrumental in the Q-NEX solutions for the following three reasons:

• The All-in-One NMP, also named control processor ( composed of such function modules as power, digital amplifier, serial control module, LAN switch, Wireless mic system, AV matrix switch, and power relay) with universal port and interfaces that are capable of integrating with IoT devices.

NMP is networked, so all the device connected can be centrally controlled remotely over network, to be specific via Q-NEX web console and Q-NEX app.

• MBX is also networked. And it is mainly deployed together with AV broadcast and live-streaming devices like IQTouch interactive display and speaker and so on for classroom broadcast and campus-wide broadcast in corridors, cafeterias, auditoriums, and anywhere outside of the classroom.

With NMP and MBX device control box, you can actually control all the campus devices anywhere any time using the Q-NEX app and web portal. For example, you can:

• lPerform campus-wide AV broadcasting and live streaming
• lControl device remotely
• lMake a task automation schedule
• lConduct AV Matrix Switching

The concept of Q-NEX explained have prepared us with enough knowledge to move on to something more specific about how they can benefit teachers, IT administrators, and school principal.

• How Q-NEX solution benefit teachers?

Q-NEX solution provides teachers with easy and effortless operation experiences.

In a school or university, there can be a hundred teachers, if teachers find it difficult or inconvenient to use multimedia classroom devices, it will inevitably lead to compromised teaching quality and teaching efficiency. For example, when teachers walk into the classroom, teachers need to find and use remote controllers for different operations like turning on the interactive display, document camera, lamp, and air conditioners. and it is inconvenient for teachers to take care of multiples controllers, and sometimes finding the remote controller can be time-consuming, but with the Q-NEX solution, teachers no longer have to use a different controller to control the devices, they can instead control all the devices with one simple tap on the Q-NEX NMP touch panel, and when teacher wants to turn on the lecture capture system or switch to the different video input sources from a document camera to multiple two interactive display panel with the same images, teacher will no longer be scared by complex device operation as these can all be done easily on the touch panel.

Q-NEX makes teachers worry-free. In addition to easy and convenient operation for teachers, teachers can walk in and out of classroom worry-free. With the Q-NEX solution, routine device control like turning or off the device before or after the calls can be automated through an automation schedule by the IT administrator. So, teachers walk into the classroom with all the devices ready to use and teachers can walk out of the classroom without worrying about devices being left turned on. In short, Q-NEX solutions saves teacher from complex, inconvenient, and repeated operation every day, thus enabling the teacher to be more focused on teaching efficiency for better teaching quality and result.

Q-NEX allows teachers to teach with more resources. Teachers can upload teaching material like audio&video files, teaching courseware, and so on to the Q-NEX cloud from which teachers can simply display them to the display for students thus enriching teaching methods and resources.

• How Q-NEX solution benefits IT administrator

Q-NEX solution provides easy device deployment. With Q-NEX NMP( Network Media Processor), a device with universal port and control, the IT administrator can wire all the IoT devices to the NMP with one cable, and this avoids messy wiring in the classroom and IT administrators can readily install new devices to the existing smart campus infrastructure via NMP followed by a convenient device data removal on the Q-NEX platform. And this is good for device infrastructure expansion and upgrading.

Q-NEX solution improves IT administrators’ work efficiency. As all the devices can be remotely controlled via NMP, it saves IT administrator time in device maintenance and device running. For example, when a teacher is calling IT administrator for help when he or she is denied from entering a classroom or operating the NMP touch panel, the IT administrator can remotely grant him or her entry to the classroom and authorize him to use the touch panel without rushing to the site to do so. And if campus-wide audio and video broadcasting or live streaming is needed when the school principal is making a speech or when emergencies occur, IT administrator can simply upload the recorded speech and deliver the live broadcasting or streaming via laptop, a smartphone with OBS through the Q-NEX web platform, and with MBX can you even conduct broadcasting to the school library, cafeteria, auditorium, and corridor and so on. You can also broadcast the text message to the targeted places for notification if needed.

Q-NEX solution makes IT administrator better respond to device maintenance. Instead of receiving phone calls from teachers complaining about faulty devices, and answering phone calls itself is already exhaustive because IT administrators have to stop what they are doing and take a record of faulty device problems with every teacher arguing for their priorities. But with Q-NEX, IT administrator only checks the device repair request for the device problem and device location, then prioritize the device fix based according to the judgment of the IT administrators instead of being pushed around for the faulty device fix. Thus, making IT administrator’s job easier and more organized.  

5. How Q-NEX solution benefit School Principal

Q-NEX solutions make it easier for school principals to monitor and manage the whole campus. With the Q-NEX platform, school principals can monitor the teacher’s teaching by looking at device usage for evaluating teacher engagement, collaboration, and interaction with students. And the school principal can also rely on the device usage to figure out the device power consumption at different times of day, so as to figure out the abnormal device power consumption, which is also good for a school principal to evaluate IT administration’s maintenance efficiency.

• Summary

All in all, by adopting Q-NEX solutions, you can smarten up the campus with reduced operating costs and manpower. The solutions make the whole campus fully automated with centralized and remote control. Teachers benefit from easy, convenient, and trouble-free device operations while improving their teaching quality and efficiency. While IT administrators can control everything remotely using the Q-NEX app and Q-NEX platform and can work more efficiently with device automation schedules, meanwhile dealing with faulty devices with greater ease and a better schedule. And with the Q-NEX solution, we can constantly check on everything and look for improvement opportunities.

Well Q-NEX solution never stops from here, it will deliver you a smarter campus as far as your imagination can go.