Infocomm has published a special series of articles on classroom design standards in higher education. The first article talks about industry standards. The second article talks about campus infrastructure standards. This is the third article in the series, and it talks about classroom design standards.
So, what are classroom design standards? These are the parts of classroom standards that specifically address the “look and feel” of the teaching space. These guidelines have to do with the types of equipment, where those items should be located, and how they operate. When we talk about classroom design standards, we lay out the look and function of the room from an end-user perspective. For example, what does an instructor expect in the room and how are they going to use it?
Information about classroom design standards would typically include:
How many projectors are there?
Do you use monitors instead?
What sort of writing surfaces are there and how many?
Is there a lectern or console and where is it located?
What sort of equipment will the lectern or console be equipped with?
Will there be support for podcasting or webcasting?
You need to look at all this from a very broad equipment perspective. You should not concentrate on makes or models, as these will be covered later. Also, you need to document these points in detail. You should have basic but professional-looking drawings of your system, which will add to your credibility and help ensure that your requirements get passed on to the final drawings.
Some key observations from this article:
“Many classroom designers make the common mistake of assuming that the ideal teaching space is a large measure of the latest technologies combined with optimal design. However, while these are certainly factors, they are not primary.”
“The key considerations that drive most learning space design are faculty desires and expectations. Of course, you can build faculty support for new methods and technologies, but this takes time and planning.”
“Also, no two colleges or universities are organised the same way. Faculty do not have the time to figure out how the AV system functions during class.”
“Faculty simply want an AV system that works well and seamlessly. They also cannot be bothered with training sessions. All they want is to be able to walk into a room and quickly figure things out!”
“Innovation for the sake of innovation will get you into a lot of trouble on most campuses. Having some group “buy-in” from faculty is almost always required before implementing a new trend or technology.”
To know more about this topic, view “Classroom Design Standards: Spelling Out ‘Look and Feel’”. More on this in the coming week…watch this space…
To know more about how to design and install classroom design standards, contact Actis at 022-30808080 or at contact@actis.co.in.
(Content courtesy: www.infocomm.org and Image courtesy: www.iitb.ac.in)