'Smart' classrooms added to buildings, construction to wrap up later this month

10/02/08 - Students on their way to class in the Chafee Social Science Center or Quinn Hall might notice something they hadn't last year: the sound of buzz saws, hammering and drilling. The ongoing construction projects in these buildings, which started in late August, is part of what J. Vernon Wyman, assistant vice president of Business Services at the University of Rhode Island, calls, "a small part of a much bigger project." Beginning in 2007, the education department at URI sought state funding to put improved technology into classrooms. Some URI classrooms are in the process of being renovated and updated with "smart classroom" technology. Wyman said the four-year project, which includes last year's renovations in Swan Hall, has a price tag of $5.7 million.

Wyman explained that incorporating the renovations and the updates gives URI the opportunity to "enhance the technology in our facilities through funding from the state," something the university would not be able to do on its own.

The "smart classroom" facilities feature a wide variety of improved technology designed to allow students to learn in a more hands-on manner. In addition to projectors that will let professors display information from their laptops onto mounted screens in the classrooms, the new rooms are equipped with "smart boxes" that allow instructors to switch between a DVD player and computer. Laptop carts will also be available in each room, providing about 25 laptops for classroom use.

The rooms also feature a course capture system, which records the faculty as they teach, as well as what they project from their laptops. This will give students the opportunity to re-watch daily lectures from home at their convenience.

Students will also be able to collaborate on group projects through "class bots," technology that provides students the ability to work independently on their own laptops while eventually combining their efforts on one screen. These projects can then be displayed on several large flat screen monitors found in each "smart classroom."

Another addition is the use of "clickers," which David Porter, director of URI Media and Technology Services, likens to the "audience response [technology] on shows like American Idol." Students can participate in polls in the classroom via handheld devices.

Porter said the students can vote anonymously with the clickers, a feature Porter hopes will both encourage honesty in students' answers in polls and help introverted students feel more comfortable participating in class.

In addition to the installation of new ceilings and flooring, an innovated lighting system is being installed. This system is able to gauge the amount of fluorescent light to use based on the amount of natural light in the room, making projection screens much clearer. Sound-reduced heating and air conditioning units are also to be installed in the renovated classrooms.

New furniture has been purchased for the rooms, which can easily be moved and reconfigured, letting students easily manipulate the set-up to work in groups.

This project, which was completed in select classrooms in Swan Hall last year, began in the Quinn and Chafee buildings in late August, only a few weeks before classes began. Wyman attributed this late start to the slow approval of contracts and Rhode Island being "more conservative releasing funds."

The heads of each department at URI then met to hand-select classrooms for renovation with "smart" technology. The rooms chosen were geared primarily toward classes for future educators. The goal of the project is to "teach future teachers," and give them new skills with enhanced technology so that they can "pass that on to future students," he said.

The "smart classroom" renovations in Quinn and Chafee are scheduled for completion by the end of October.