TelePresence improves videoconferencing’s two-way audio and video telecommunication experience by offering high definition video communication, using the best equipment available, and allowing for complete network control. While videoconferencing operates on television style sets, Telepresence’s 55-inch plasma screens allow the “life size” view of the remote location to include important details like facial gestures and real-time eye contact. This immersive experience means participants at a distant site feel as if they were physically present in the room.

Room 312 Burruss Hall was the first TelePresence room at the university, followed closely by 1100 Torgersen Hall for larger groups. The National Lambda Rail’s TelePresence Exchange links the Cisco TelePresence rooms among the four universities—Virginia Tech, George Mason University, James Madison University, and the University of Virginia. Courses originating at one university can include students at other universities, participating simultaneously alongside their distant, fellow students.