New classroom offers flexible learning environment

Ian Tosh demonstrates features of the classroom

August 12, 2015 – Smartboard? Check. Video cameras? Check. Mobile furniture? Check. This fall, students can look forward to a new a new active learning classroom that offers some of the latest and greatest innovations for flexible learning.

On July 29, students, faculty, and staff were offered a sneak peek at the new classroom, located on the second floor of the Kresge building. The design and construction of the room was led by the Operations Office and Department of Information Technology, with input from departments across the school, including the Office of Education.

“Nothing is tied down. The furniture is on wheels and very easy to move, the podium moves [and is wireless], and the screens are all configurable to use whatever presentation style somebody would want,” said Ian Tosh, manager of the Media and Educational Technology Services (METS) team, who helped design the classroom.

The smartboard allows handwritten notes to be recorded and saved
The smartboard allows handwritten notes to be recorded and saved

The technology in the room is designed to complement a range of uses, from interactive classes to video conferences. A smartboard at the front of the room allows handwritten notes to be recorded and saved. Students have the ability to send data wirelessly from laptops, phones, and tablets to screens around the room—for example, a student could share a dataset with their classmates. The room is also equipped with cameras that automatically follow speakers as they move around the room.

Julie Riley, a learning designer at the School, says everything about the space—from the flexible furniture to the state-of-the-art technology—is designed to inspire innovative approaches to teaching, such as case-based discussions.

“One of the things we know is that people learn best when they’re interacting more with the material and with each other,” said Riley. To that end, the default layout of the room is focused on small group collaboration, as opposed to a lecture setup, with a teacher in front speaking to a room of students. “Often the design of the room drives the teaching method. So, if you get put in a room and the chairs are in rows, and the structure is rigid, and I’m in the front and the students are all looking at me, you tend to then lecture because that is how the room is set up.”

Riley says the design of the new classroom is inspiring faculty to consider alternatives to a traditional lecture.

“I talked to a faculty member who was teaching in there this summer and she told me that she’s already thinking of different ways to teach her material based on the technology and the layout of the room. She’s very excited to go back and revamp the way she teaches based on the facility that’s now available,” she said.

Harvard Chan students, faculty, or staff interested in using the new classroom can fill out this form.

Noah Leavitt