Week 5 - CITE Experimental Classroom @ HKU ~ Anthony's thought

When I came to this classroom, my first impression is the high technology multimedia equipment within this classroom. In the middle of the room, there is a very big display above the lecturer desk for the lecture presentation. Every corner of the room can see the screen. In additional to the big screen, there are big monitors near each group table. The students can use these monitors to watch the presentation slides or display their group work for discussion. The design of this classroom creates an excellent environment for the students to collaborate and discuss in groups. The audio and the lighting system of the classroom are also well designed. The lecturer can control the lighting of the room to suit their different teaching needs. The lecturer speech can be clearly heard at every group table with no echo. It is an excellent teaching and learning environment. It is my pleasure if I could have an chance to teach here.
In designing the eLearning environment, Laurillard identified five media forms including Narrative, Interactive, Communication, Adaptive, Productive. I would like to use these five forms to discuss the pros and cons of this classroom design:

1. Narrative – This classroom has big display and big TVs for the lecture video, multimedia, and powerpoint presentation. The students can improve their learning experience through attending and apprehending.
2. Interactive – The design of group table is to facilitate the interaction among the group members. It also reduces the gap between the teacher and the students. However, there is only one computer on each table. I suggest to add more computers on each table, so that each group members can have their computer for the online activites. The students can use the computers to further investigating and exploring their new ideas and knowledge.

3. Communicative – The classroom layout can facilitate the communication among the group members. However, the design of floor level and partitions will isolate the groups, it cannot facilitate the communication among the groups. I suggest to redecorate all the tables resting on the same floor level and remove the partitions between the tables to remove the communication barriers. Moreover, the addition of computers to the table will further encourage the students’ online discussion and debate.
4. Adaptive – The big display/TVs and the Audio system can facilitate the virtual simulation in the classroom. To further improving the students’ learning experience in experimenting and practicing, I suggest to add an small camera to the Lecturer's table. It can support the Lecturer to provide the real-time demonstrations to the students.
5. Productive – The students can use the computers on the table to express their ideas and present their project reports on the monitors. Moreover, they can use the computers in the classroom to write the essay and prepare the report.

Cheers...Anthony