Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Current News
A
7/30/2003
Here at the Syllabus conference in San Jose, we were all thrilled with our day-long visit to Stanford University on Monday and the wonderful facilities we experienced. Of special interest were the many sessions in Wallenberg Hall, home to the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL). There we interacted in several experimental “smart” learning spaces utilizing video, large screens, and various collaborative software programs. If you can picture Tom Cruise in Minority Report, utilizing floor-to-ceiling transparent displays of visually arresting data and moving the data around by waving his arms in the air . . . well, we’re not there yet . . . but these are clearly good first steps on that path. Many attendees from other institutions were in awe of the capabilities and of their apparent cost!
In the panel discussion following most of the day, David Brown or Wake Forest University made the distinction between such “experimental” learning spaces and learning spaces designed with “proven-to-be-best” technologies. We’ll talk a bit more about some of what we saw, but this author thinks that a really inexpensive way to enhance learning in classroom space is pretty easy to introduce and quite inexpensive. I’m talking about instant messenger, IRC chat.
David first stated that he has spent probably a year of his life attending conferences of 1-3 days’ duration, and this particular day, on the Stanford Campus at Syllabus, was perhaps the one day during which he had heard more interesting and useful stuff than on any other single day – so you can get a feel for the load of information we were all processing.
Quite a bit of what we were hearing was the use of these new technologies to “make thinking visible” and to engage individuals in more collaborative groups as they explore knowledge – or argue about it. I particularly liked the way the smaller classrooms in Wallenberg had large displays connected to wireless controls and laptops that let anyone in the room with a laptop, keyboard, or a mouse manipulate the large screens – and move files from those screens to the laptops, and back and forth.
However, David then went on to say that from his perspective in the provost’s office of a smaller institution, his primary concerns in planning for technology in classrooms would be the cost of the technology and of the staff to support it. He would be aiming to build with “proven-to-be-best” technologies, the ascertainment of which he thoroughly appreciated pioneering facilities like Wallenberg Hall for breaking ground on. He had lots of good advice and most of it can be found online, as well as slides from the presentations of Steve Ehrmann (Flashlight Program) and Bob Smith (the Stanford staffer who managed the building’s planning and implementation).
Well, not to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm (including mine) for what is to come, or for the capabilities of Wallenberg Hall, but I think you can get a long way to some of the more useful functionalities by putting a wireless node in the room and letting the students “chat” during class. Pretty simple, pretty cheap!
My first introduction to “chat” during lecture was about 1998 when Harvard’s Berkman Center held its first online law class.
Recommended Reading
- Campus Security :: November 14, 2008
:::::: SECURITY SPOTLIGHT
: Smart Phone Security: New Challenges for Road Warriors
:::::: CAMPUS SECURITY NEWS
: SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones
: Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
: e2Campus Provides Twitter Integration in Emergency Notification System
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities
: Rave Wireless Adding BlackBerry Devices to Notification Service
: U Miami Trades IPS for Top Layer Security System
: Cornell Hardens Campus Network with Gigabit Wireless Radio Links
: U Pittsburgh Turns to Verizon Business for Automated Notification Services - IT Trends :: Thursday, November 13, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
:: Cornell Takes Visual Approach to Data Analysis
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Panopto Launches Hosted Lecture Capture System
:: Microsoft To Add Smooth Streaming in IIS7
:: Agile Solution Provider Rolls Out Java SDK
:: Salem CC To Enhance Self Service with Unified Digital Campus
:: Parallels Desktop 4.0 Get Performance Boost, DirectX 9.0 Support
:: Brandon U To Automate Employment Processes with EmpCenter
:: SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones - C-Level View :: November 12, 2008
:::::: EXECUTIVE VIEW
: Delta iTunes U Enhances Learning in a Familiar Web 2.0 Environment
:::::: WORTH NOTING
: Caltech Completes Parking Structure Solar Array
: Schools Take Recruitment Virtual with Online Education Expo
: Blackboard Managed Hosting Rolls Out Virtual Operating Environment
: Higher Ed Help Desk Platform Adds Web 2.0 Tools
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities - SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
:::::: TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
: Microblogging and Relevancy
:::::: NEWS and PRODUCT UPDATES
: Open Source Java Libraries Debut for uPortal
: Dimdim Launches Hosted Virtual Classroom
: ASU School of Engineering Posts 10,000th Lecture with Mediasite
: Lyon College Plans Student Laptop Rollout
: Moodle Gets Student Verification Capabilities - News Update :: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
:::::: NEWS
: Caltech Completes Parking Structure Solar Array
: Schools Take Recruitment Virtual with Online Education Expo
: Salem CC To Enhance Self Service with Unified Digital Campus
: Brandon U To Automate Employment Processes with EmpCenter
: Open Source Java Libraries Debut for uPortal
: ASU and Obsidian Collaboration Seeks to Boost Long-distance Bandwidth
: Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
: e2Campus Provides Twitter Integration in Emergency Notification System
: Plagiarism Detection System Adds URL Filtering, Reporting Groups - IT Trends :: Thursday, November 6, 2008
:::::: CASE STUDY
:: Small College Makes Big Leap in Wireless
:::::: IT NEWS
:: Washington U Healthcare Researchers Turn to Virtual Storage
:: Cornell Hardens Campus Network with Gigabit Wireless Radio Links
:: BYU-Idaho Turns to Web-based Facilities Management System
:: U Pittsburgh Turns to Verizon Business for Automated Notification Services
:: Universities Turn to Oracle for Web-based Services
:: Delgado CC Expands Outsourced Support Agreement with Presidium Learning
:: Security Concerns May Slow Cloud Computing Adoption
