This is the room in which we attempt to SCALE-UP. Surge 108, on VT’s Blacksburg campus. It’s only looked like this for about a month!
The view from the back of the room. Problem #1: Podium front and center. So far this is just an awkwardly arranged lecture hall…
You can see pretty much every “pod” from here. Looks easy enough to move around in but once you add people in those chairs the corners become pretty tight. Problem #2: mobility.
Instructor’s right. There is a screen in each back corner so people with their backs to the podium have something to look at. Problem #3: if used as a normal lecture room, there’s no way to effectively “point” at that screen. Laser pointers peter out!
Instructor’s left. Pretty much the mirror image of the previous.
The instruction of students in this room is still very much in its infancy so maybe these problems will resolve themselves, but perhaps more will surface. This post was mostly just to explain what the room looks like, anyway.
More blunders to follow.