Qualitative Education Research Lab
Our state-of-the-art facility provides researchers with several options when they need to record students interacting in some manner with physics content. Scientists can make use of small or large interview rooms which are unobstrusively viewable (and controllable) from a separate room via a one-way mirror. They can also utilize a small production studio so that they or the students they are working with can capture and stream video content. It is even possible to observe and record students as they themselves are creating videos.
All recorded video and audio data is captured in the observation room by an array of Apple Mac mini’s and Mac Pros. All data collected is securely stored with redundancy protection. An audio mixer and matrix switcher lets the researcher combine and condition audio from any microphone and reroute to any video capture device. It is possible to remotely control video capture (with silent panning and zooming) from the control room as well as monitor and pan/zoom any camera wirelessly from a laptop within the interview room.
The QERL is available for use by NC State STEM researchers following a short orientation with the Lab Coordinator. Specific documentation is provided for interested researchers to schedule an interview session, capture the interview, and export the data to a USB hard drive provided by the researcher.
Small Interview Room 
This room, designed for small group or individual interviews features:
- a pan/tilt/zoom Standard-Definition ceiling-mounted camera
- a powered table-top conference microphone with wall audio jacks
- a modular square tables
- hand-held remote control for camera orientation control with IR channel selection
- wireless signal and ethernet ports
- insulation from cell phone towers
- sound insulation via wall panels
- two-way mirrors to the observation room.
Large Interview Room 
This room, designed for classroom observation and focus group interviews features:
- three pan/tilt/zoom Standard-Definition ceiling-mounted camera
- one pan/tilt/zoom High-Definition ceiling-mounted camera
- four powered table-top conference microphones with wall audio jacks
- four modular square tables, floor access to electrical outlets
- hand-held remote control for camera orientation control with IR channel selection
- wireless signal and ethernet ports
- insulation from cell phone towers
- two-way mirrors to the observation room.
Learning Glass Studio 
This dual purpose room allows researchers to observe interviews, just like the other Small Interview Room. Additionally, it is a full video production studio equipped with LearningGlass capabilities. This includes:
- simultaneous video capture of instructor’s face and handwriting
- embedded digital output with video capture
- greenscreen processing, allowing animations and other insertions that the instructor can “move into”
- monitor video feeds from convenient monitors
- live stream or record video
Control Suite 
The “BatCave” allows researchers to observe interviews with the protection of invisibility and capture all video/audio from the interview session. Additionally, it provides the flexibility to:
- mix selective audio streams with video feeds,
- control camera movement and assign camera presets through a joystick controller,
- monitor video feeds and video data capture on computers,
- monitor video feeds from the monitors on the rack,
- minor video editing with EyeTV software,
- extensive video editing with Final Cut Pro,
- route a mixed audio stream from several microphones to any computer capturing video,
- and capture live video/audio from all cameras at the same time.