University classrooms are morphing into places most alumni would find strange. The days of traditional half-moon-shaped lecture halls with stadium-style seating for students is no longer in vogue. Students in today’s digital world demand much more.
Photo by CSM Library licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Sophisticated tech-savvy students want and expect unblemished, easy access to digital devices in classrooms and they want lots of technology. They prefer to learn through interaction with other students and they prefer instructors who encourage collaboration and creativity.
In newly designed classrooms, instructors no longer stand in front of students and lecture. They walk around and interact with groups gathered at technology-laden tables. They encourage table discussions and facilitate conversations with others in diverse locations. Teaching in such classrooms is more akin to leading than lecturing.
Numerous universities in Texas and elsewhere have incorporated the use of “Active Learning Classrooms” (ALCs). Classrooms using ALC techniques are noisier places with no front or focal point. They are equipped with technology that usually includes laptops with switching technology, fixed flat-panel display projection systems, microphones, whiteboards and teaching stations that allow instructors to select and display table-specific information. Student interaction, collaboration and peer teaching are encouraged.
The University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business features interactive learning experiences for students through ALCs. There are group tables for students and technology enhancements that include flat-panel display projection systems, wall-mounted whiteboards and computers. The University of Houston’s first ALC boasted a student capacity of 72. Laptops are available at each table along with wireless access points for faster speeds and data transfers. Charging tech stations are also located throughout the space.
Two traditional classrooms at San Antonio College, part of the Alamo Colleges, were redesigned and developed into ALCs. In addition to being completely Wi-Fi enabled, they have mobile videoconferencing capability that allows students to interact with others at different locations.
Houston Community College (HCC) has taken the ALC concept to a new level. The West Houston Institute, scheduled to open in November, has been described as a facilitated collaboration space designed to create intersections and networks of learning and innovation. Classrooms are being designed around the concept of “makerspaces.” Rice University and MIT have been successful with similar makerspaces.
So what are makerspaces? This is another classroom trend in education that was brought about, in part, by technology advances and students’ eagerness to use even more sophisticated technology. Makerspaces may include higher level technology such as 3-D printers and computer-assisted drawing software so that students can bring ideas and projects to life. These types of classrooms capture immediate attention from students, and colleges and universities are able to justify the technology expense because recruitment has become so competitive.
These trends have created a continually growing marketplace and a bounty of government contracting opportunities for technology companies that serve educational institutions. As parents make decisions about where and how their children will be educated, even at the elementary level, technology is a huge consideration. That reality will drive competition for decades. Technology firms are the great beneficiaries, but they may have to scramble to keep up with the demand.
SPI’s team of procurement consultants can help you keep up with the fast pace of change in the world of technology. Contact them today!