College of the Canyons on the Fast Track With Epson 3LCD PowerLite® Projectors

Movie lovers have seen the rolling, tree-dotted hills surrounding College of the Canyons in many Hollywood Westerns. Thirty-five miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, the community college now has a symbiotic relationship with today's fast-growing Santa Clarita Valley. The family-friendly region and the college have together faced two whirlwind decades of growth. When enrollment at the Valencia campus jumped beyond 15,000, the community enthusiastically supported adding another campus in Canyon Country.

One of the fastest growing community colleges in California, College of the Canyons has also kept up with developments in classroom technology. Within a few years, the college boasted a highly skilled technical support team, a Technology Center, plus online student services, library access and training programs. College of the Canyons put a campus-wide LAN in place, connecting over 1,600 computers, 33 student labs and a faculty/staff lab. It then equipped its new classrooms with Epson 3LCD PowerLite projectors, computers, control systems, DVD/VHS players, document cameras and speakers.

"The Epson 3LCD PowerLite projectors met our criteria on many fronts, including image quality and reliability, so it made sense to make them part of the school's overall expansion."

-- Joe Lanthier, AV Coordinator, College of the Canyons

Cross-Campus Solution

A star performer in the new College of the Canyons classrooms is the Epson 3LCD PowerLite 6110i projector. "Although we'd been using other projectors in older classrooms, it was a constant chore getting them to work properly," said Joe Lanthier, AV Coordinator, College of the Canyons. Working at the college for over 20 years, he has been in high gear too long to slow down. "I eventually got tired of wasting time and money," he said. "We needed another plan."

After setting up the Epson PowerLite projectors in several classrooms, he knew he had found the right solution. He recommended standardizing the Epson projector brand in all new buildings on both campuses, including a new high technology classroom building on the older campus. "It's difficult to keep the equipment running smoothly and to train staff when you're dealing with multiple vendors," he said. "The Epson 3LCD PowerLite projectors met our criteria on many fronts, including image quality and reliability, so it made sense to make them part of the school's overall expansion."

Bright Ideas

"Like many of this generation, college students in the Santa Clarita Valley grew up communicating with screen technology, so they're very receptive to projectors in the classroom," said Lanthier. "Students understand and retain information more easily with projectors in the college classroom."

Whether displaying PowerPoint® presentations or web pages, instructors taught more effectively with better screen quality, as delivered by the 3,500 lumens of color light output, 3,500 lumens of white light output, * and XGA (1024 x 768) resolution of the Epson projectors. The bright, true-to-life color of 3LCD technology made a big difference. "Once we opened the door to the possibilities, lecturers throughout the college in the older classrooms began to ask for the Epson projectors," he said.

Easy to Use

The Epson PowerLite® projectors also provide College of the Canyons' classrooms with advanced features for ease of use, including Instant On, Instant Off® and auto keystone correction to automatically adjust the shape of the image. Users can also employ the A/V Mute to create a quick pause in the presentation and the 1.6x optical zoom to focus in on the image. "It's not difficult to teach instructors how to use Epson projectors to give lectures that both stimulate and inform students," said Lanthier. The network-capable projectors also come with powerful sound and communication features, including a built-in 5W speaker and closed captioning capabilities. "The integrated closed captioning decoder has been a big plus in providing assistive technology for disabled students," he said.

Built to Last

The Epson projectors work long hours at one of California's busiest community colleges, but the projectors were built for durability. The school is also able to protect its investment with the projector's dust-resistant design, long-lasting air filter, and energy-efficient lamp with up to 4,000 hours of lamp life. **

Using the controller connected to the campus-wide network, Lanthier is also able to monitor and control the power, volume and switches between inputs of all networkable projectors from his office. "I also receive email alerts when a projector might need attention, so I have great control over the fleet at both campuses," he said.

College of the Canyons' objective is that its classrooms, labs and other facilities meet the education needs of Santa Clarita Valley communities. The Hollywood Western has been replaced by other location shoots, but the area remains a growth engine in Los Angeles County, with new homes selling rapidly in places like Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Saugus, Castaic, Val Verde, Agua Dulce and Acton. With classroom technology like projectors, College of the Canyons is in step with the needs of the region, providing its students with the very best tools for future success.

Source: Epson

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Epson PowerLite 6110i projector page.