Hey all. I'm a (mostly) retired tech who has been out of the 'serious' networking business for 15+ years. I got my start as a desktop repair guy, got an associates degree in Networking and a diploma in Linux administration back in the early 00's. No certs, nothing fancy, just a low-level networking guy who because of life issues got out of it.
Fastforward to today: I have a client that I've picked up (money's tight y'all) who has a network that I've been trying to get back into shape after the last guy left it ashambles. The client runs a rehabilitation facility for folks (up til now, only men) trying to reintegrate back into life after exiting prison, and they currently run a classroom with three-way display set up (on monitor for the instructor, two LED TV's set up as extended displays for powerpoint/video/etc.). Because they are going to begin taking on women tenants, the client has requested of me to be able to run two separate classrooms from a single point. They have another room setup with a computer & dual TV's in their dining hall where they wish to use the facility as a dual purpose building. We have run network cable from the DH to the server room, so both buildings are on the same subnet.
I'm kind of at a loss as to how to proceed with their request, as they want the abilities to:
- Have the single instructor be able to see the 'remote' classroom
- Have the 'remote' classroom be able to see the instructor
- Display the information the instructor is showing in the classroom they're physically in on the screens in the 'remote' classroom at the same time.
- Have the 'remote' classroom be able to view what the instructor puts on the markerboard.
I've discussed smartboards and the issues surrounding them, as well as the newer interactive flat panels, which are currently cost-prohibitive for the organization (a non-profit), so smartboards are out for the moment. I'm trying to figure out if there is even a way I can mirror her classroom display monitors across their intranet. I figure I'll likely set up an IP camera in the 'remote' class for the instructor to monitor on her primary monitor while instructing, and a webcam to display on the classroom displays of her that will be displayed in both classes simultaneously. I'll likely have to set up a microphone for her to use that will be played as output on the system (muted in the main class, not in the remote)...but I haven't been able to figure out how to get all of this to mesh together.
I also considered adding an inexpensive huion tablet & pen that will let her use her displays as a 'whiteboard' of sorts that will allow both classrooms to see the board simultaneously to get over having to have yet another camera pointed at the whiteboard and taking up more display space.
Any help y'all can offer will be mightily appreciated, as I've been out of the game so long, I'm not sure what software solutions for situations like this even exists or how to go about finding it without having to trial-and-error, costing the client more time and money getting a system set up.
As for the network, it's currently running (mostly) Win10 machines with a few Win7's, and a Ubuntu 20.04 server (currently being configured as a backup server).
There's much more that needs to be done on this network, so this likely won't be the last question I have, but this is my current stopping point.
I thank you for your time.
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