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Hi, this is Mike Leiboff for mediaineducation.com.
Today, we will take a brief look at the classroom of the future.
What will it be like?
Judging by recent classrooms being built across the country, it may be possible to
identify several trends that can help us answer this question.
It would have multiple electronic display surfaces.
Some would be large projected images,
using dedicated ceiling-mounted projectors.
The images projected onto these screens would be used to engage
larger groups of students or the entire class.
Other displays would be wall-mounted flat panels, 42 inches or larger.
The orientation of which could be shifted from side to side.
Groups of students would utilize these screens to display computer-based
materials within smaller workgroups.
A good portion of the perimeter walls would be made up of writing surfaces.
They might even be magnetic to enable them to be used as tack surfaces.
Traditional court board surfaces would also be available for
the display of longer-duration wall-mounted projects.
The furniture would be sturdy but lightweight, movable and
reconfigurable to accommodate workgroups of various sizes.
Chairs would be comfortable and on wheels.
And the room would be sized to allow for comfortable circulation and
a certain messiness, even chaos, during the classroom project activities.
The teacher's workstation would be mobile and small.
Most of the time, instructors would be wanderers, listening in on discussions,
moving around the room and guiding students forward.
The floor would be covered with a sturdy carpet material and
designed with a grid of power and data receptacles.
Though maintenance of floor boxes might be more demanding the, trade-off for
flexibility is well worth it.
Though the entire building would have wireless network connectivity,
an extensive array of hardwired outlets would be furnished to provide connectivity
to support ultra-high-bandwidth multimedia applications.
Wall outlets would provide power for
recharging purposes as well as to support various portable equipment.
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The lighting would be zoned such that fixtures closest to the projection screen
could be turned off independently of the other fixtures.
Indirect lighting would provide a comfortably soft illumination and
be daylight balanced.
Room sensors would automatically extinguish lighting when the room is not
occupied.
The HVAC, or heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system,
would be quiet and independently controlled from within each room.
The acoustics of the room would ensure that the space would not be too hard or
reverberant.
And would be well isolated to ensure that exciting or overly enthusiastic
learning activities in one room would not disturb adjacent classes.
Though the school might not assign laptops,
one to the student, a mobile cart of laptops would
be available to support computer-aided learning activities where necessary.
There would be fixed work surfaces along a portion of the periphery of the room.
On them, students would assemble projects, use the document camera, printer,
or desktop computers dedicated to the room, laminating machines.
Or other equipment used to support the production of multimedia materials.
Remote control of the room's audiovisual technology would be
controlled from a wireless tablet computer.
Using it, teacher or student could surf the web,
access network multimedia, control display device, etc.
All of the audiovisual equipment would be IP connected and allow for
central monitoring, control, remote technical support.
This would, among other things,
help to limit the head count needed to support advanced technology.
The room would be designed with an enclosed equipment niche,
which would provide access to the technology when necessary and
hidden from view when appropriate.
Rear access to the equipment would facilitate periodic maintenance and
servicing.
The room would have a dedicated PC, DVD player, provisions to receive cable and
satellite, as well as Internet-based video programming.
And the display systems would have connectivity for
personal video devices, such as the video iPod.
Ceiling speakers would be used to provide the sound from any recorded or
live program material.
Dedicated video origination capabilities, consisting of cameras located in
the front and rear of the room, would be used to capture classroom activities.
These activities could be recorded digitally for later viewing,
distributed anywhere in the building, or used for distance learning activities.
Also, video conferencing would allow collaboration with field teams and
remotely located groups.
Guest lecturers would also participate this way, as well.
All the classrooms would be interconnected so
that any room could serve as an overflow area for any other space.
The degree to which permanent storage was provided within the room
would depend on the particular requirements of classes being held there.
Hopefully, storage would not be the forgotten trade-off in the inevitable
building value engineering exercises that accompany every new building project.
There can and should be no single vision of the classroom of the future.
The ideas here will get you started.
And remember, future flexibility for
any classroom lies not within the specific technology or equipment choices made,
but in the basic room geometry, sizing, juxtaposition.
And base-building infrastructure, which includes power, conduit,
connectivity, pathways, etc., provided in the bricks and mortar of the building.
This has been Mike Leiboff, thanks for watching.
For more videos like these, please go to mediaineducation.com.
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