$35,000 Commons touchscreen sees little student engagement

Renovations to the Morrison Commons wrapped up at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. But despite the sleek, new touchscreen TV panels that were installed in the main entrance of the Commons last fall, the Division of Student Affairs is struggling to encourage students to use the $35,000 purchase.

Campus Facilities Manager Jon Martin said that Augustana licensed the interactive TVs from a software company, PanoScape, for the cost of $35,000 for four years — a sum that was factored into the Commons renovation budget.

“This fee includes the hardware, software and a defined amount of support for graphics,” Martin said. 

Students can use these panels to find various kinds of information, like team rosters and events happening on campus; however, Sara Desmet, office coordinator of Student Affairs, said that students do not seem to be aware of this resource. 

Desmet knows that this new addition has the potential to be successful because she has already seen a similar TV set-up succeed on campus.

“We have a five-screen display in Midco, and that’s mostly hockey and athletics,” Desmet said. “Because it went so well over there, [we] wanted to use it here with the new dining and set-up.”

Although the TV panels in the Midco Arena have been a big hit amongst game attendees, the ones in the Commons are not landing with the same triumph, despite their central location mounted on the first wall one sees when walking in the main doors. From 12–1 p.m. on a busy Monday, or a typical rush hour for lunch, not a single student interacted with — or even looked at — the TVs. 

The screens automatically cycle through videos of homecoming highlights, athletic and club team details and even activities like trivia. Freshman club hockey player Sam Sahly was once drawn to the screen when he saw a feature of his own team on the board. 

“I clicked on it [and] just kind of checked it out because it kind of highlighted club hockey, so the shoutout was cool,” Sahly said. “Even if you’re not directly looking for it, it’s hard to miss.”

Freshman cheerleader Madison Ryken also could not help but turn her head when she spotted her own face on the screen, captured cheering in a video clip from a football game. 

“It’s kind of funny,” Ryken said. “I’ve never gone up and tried to touch it. I feel like any time I’m in there, I only see the video playing.”

Every once in a while, the screens land on a slide with the phrase “TAP HERE.” Despite the invitation, it seems that students are still not drawn to engage with the screen unless they catch something familiar exhibited on it. 

As a result, Desmet has put it upon herself to lead by example.

“I don’t think most people know it’s touchscreen, [so] I try to go down there and mess around with the trivia so people can see it,” Desmet said.

Desmet said she knows her playful interactions with the panels can only go so far, so Student Affairs is seeking other strategies to sway the student body. One of Desmet’s ideas is to introduce incentives for student engagement.

“In a perfect world, things [wouldn’t] cost money, and I could be like, ‘Yeah, you just won trivia so you can get a free Chick-fil-A meal,’” Desmet said.

Desmet said that she and other Student Affairs staff have high hopes for the panels, including using them to broadcast games and keep students engaged with campus events. Student Affairs is still experimenting with the panels, so Desmet said she is welcoming any suggestions that might make them more relevant to students.

“It is meant to be for the students that are here,” Desmet said. “If you have any ideas for things that [work] on the board, I’m open to it.”