Designing an Electronic Classroom for Large College Courses.

Several years ago, faculty at the University of Mississippi's School of Business recognized the need to integrate computer and information technology into all aspects of business education in a manner that provides a practical, hands-on learning experience. Accordingly, plans were developed in the summer of 1992 for the construction of a state-of-the-art electronic classroom for large numbers of students in regularly scheduled classes. This classroom was not intended to serve as a traditional "computer lab" or computer training facility. Rather, it was intended to function as a regular teaching classroom that allowed the seamless integration of computer and multimedia technology into any class, regardless of its subject content. The Ole Miss Business Advisory Council and the Business Alumni Chapter enthusiastically endorsed the concept and helped fund the facility. Work began in late summer of 1992, and the electronic classroom was completed by December 1992 for a total of approximately $300,000. This cost included the complete renovation of an existing classroom, a dedicated heating/air conditioning system, and all computer and audiovisual equipment. * Architecture of the Room Many of the classrooms in the university's School of Business are designed for oral presentations and case discussions. A typical classroom contains up to 65 seats in semi-circles on several raised tiers. Therefore, only moderate architectural changes were necessary. We wanted to keep the face-to-face environment of the auditorium while simultaneously enabling students to use computer terminals on the desk in front of them. Figure 1 shows an architectural drawing of the finished electronic classroom. Desks were redesigned in the room to raise computer monitors, recess keyboards, and enclose the mini-tower microcomputer CPUs. In addition, four desks at the front of the room were tailored for wheelchair access. Although several aesthetic modifications were made (new ceiling panels, flooring, lighting, curtains, etc.), most work focused on the installation of wiring under the floor and a new air conditioning system for the room. * Hardware Components Our electronic classroom houses 54 486SX 25MHz microcomputers for students (each configured with 4MB of RAM, 40MB hard disk and 1028x768 color monitor) plus one 486DX2 66MHz computer for the instructor (with 8MB of RAM, 420MB hard disk, color monitor, SoundBlaster card, CD-ROM drive, stereo amplifier and external speakers). It also includes a BARCO video projection system and special software that enables an instructor to project whatever appears on any of the room's 55 monitors onto a large screen at the front. This motorized screen can be used with the BARCO projector for computer or video images or with a standard overhead projection unit. The 55 PCs (and other microcomputers throughout the building) are connected by an Ethernet local area network, via a Compaq ProSignia 486DX2 66Mhz file server outfit with 32MB of RAM and a 1GB hard disk located in a separate utility room at the back of the electronic classroom. Gateways from the LAN provide access to the university's library, mainframe and supercomputers, and the Internet. * Software Utilized in the Room A variety of software is provided on the network, including word processors, spreadsheets, databases, programming languages, etc. All are available for simultaneous use by the students. For example: * Finance classes use spreadsheets to model complex problems such as capital budgeting and cash forecasting. * Production and Operations Management classes use graphics and statistical programs to evaluate control charts and regression results. * Management Information Systems classes use programming languages, data bases, plus systems analysis and design software to design systems. …