Skip to main content

Podium User Guide

Controlling the Podium​

Most of our rooms are equipped with an LCD touch panel which controls all functions in the room. It senses presence and automatically turns on, but if not, you can touch the screen to wake it up.
Podium Start Screen

The default screen has various sections:
Podium AV Controls

  • Highlighted Green Area: Represents the different control groups (video input, camera, and power).
  • Middle Portion: Selection of any control group loads relevant content here to fine-tune that specific function.
    • Example (Video Input): Allows you to choose between the in-room PC and an HDMI cable for displays.
    • Example (Camera): Allows you to adjust the camera position. Presets are highly recommended to accommodate most needs, though manual buttons can fine-tune positioning.
  • Highlighted Yellow Area: Persistent across all screens and controls audio/microphone functions.

Camera Controls​

Podium Camera Controls

tip

The camera is only available on rooms with video conferencing capabilites and only the in-room PC can be used for video conferencing, the HDMI cable for personal laptops only does audio and video display.

In Room PC​

When you arrive at one of PVFA’s Classroom Podium computers, you will log in with your NetID@tamu.edu and password.

note

The initial log in creates your local user profile account on that computer. This takes extra time and requires an active network connection to authenticate through TAMU’s directory systems.

Policies​

Annual Maintenance Cycle​

  • Summer Refresh: PVFA reimages classroom computers once per year during the summer months. Technology Services will reinstall the OS, add or update major software packages, and apply new configurations. No user data will be saved or migrated during this process.
  • Notifications: Alerts detailing specific scheduling will be pushed to the email Listserv, Discord, and physical signs posted in the rooms.
  • Hardware Upgrades: Hardware is fully upgraded every 4 years during the same summer window.

Session Auto Logout and Lock​

  • Session Logout: To maintain peak system performance for consecutive classes and ensure maintenance windows are met, podium computers feature a 1-hour idle timeout, a warning message will be displayed 5 minutes before automatically logging out inactive sessions.
  • Additionally there is a session lock which is defined according to AC-11

Software Maintenance Window​

Maintainence Window Details

Software​

Software deployment is split into two self-sufficient options that do not require explicit permissions or manual support from Technology Services:

  1. Prebuilt Software Store: For core apps utilized across the college or those requiring specific institutional volume licenses.
  2. Automatic Account Elevation: For on-demand local system adjustments.

The following software comes Pre-Loaded on podium computers:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application ([Note: Base app only; you must log in to download specific tools like Premiere, InDesign, Photoshop, etc.])
  • Google Chrome
  • Microsoft Office
  • Zoom
tip

Instructors are highly advised to log in to assigned classrooms BEFORE the first day of the semester to verify that all necessary software tools are present.

Storage​

Storage Options