Students at IU Southeast can now sit in the same classroom as those across the state, thanks to the new “EagleEye” room.
Located in Knobview 011, the $37,000 room is equipped with two 70-inch flat screen TVs, two dynamic webcams, three microphones hanging from the ceiling and a computer station to control it all. There are also five tables with seats for students.
The EagleEye room joins together students in modern language classrooms “at both ends of the state—in real time,” said Lee Staton, manager of communications and special projects for Information Technology at IU Southeast.
In order to experience the capabilities of this room, students would have to take a course in it scheduled by the registrar.
Modern language classes taught synchronously between IU Southeast and other IU campuses are currently the primary use of the EagleEye room. These classes require students and instructor to be in the EagleEye room at their respective schools at the same time to get the full effect. Other classes may be able to take advantage of this technology in the future, but modern language classes take priority.
Staton said certain one-time uses for the room may also occur during the semester, such as guest lectures or broadcasts. 
The room is named after a product developed by Polycom called EagleEye Director. This program uses two cameras and multiple monitors. One of the cameras shows a wide view of the entire classroom and the other focuses on specific students.
Staton said the system automatically switches between the wide view and a close up of students talking through sound tracking and facial recognition.
“It’s as though a human director were calling the shots,” he said.
The EagleEye room is located directly across from the IT offices in Knobview Hall so someone is close by in case tech support is needed for the new setup.
“EagleEye gives participants more of a feeling of being there in the classroom or meeting,” Staton said.
The EagleEye room is equipped to provide a unified classroom experience for students across multiple campuses.
A UITS department called Collaboration Technologies first brought the EagleEye Director program to IU, and pilot rooms were initially set up at IU Bloomington and IUPUI. Regional campuses have begun installing EagleEye rooms this semester.
EagleEye is intended to be used and connected with other classrooms across the world using the same technology to allow for a unified classroom experience without students actually being in the same room. However, the room could be used with any compatible site or platform for standard videoconferencing as well.
“The real impact comes in the experience students will have,” Staton said. “EagleEye creates a better feeling of two classrooms of students being in the same place.”
