Viewbook Test Roberts 321

Roberts 321 is a lecture classroom with flat floor, dual projection, and modern individual tablet arm desks.  Renovated in 2018, the room accommodates 49 students under normal conditions, or 20 with social distancing.

General Layout and Features

The classroom is equipped with moveable tablet arm desks, typically arranged in regular rows facing west. The desks have a work surface that can be adjusted 360° for left-handed or right-handed students, or swung out of the way.

The sidearm desks are on casters, so it is easy to reconfigure the room into groups of various sizes for active learning.

The instructor area in the northwest corner includes a podium. Wall mounted whiteboards are available on the entire west and south walls. The north and east walls are large windows with adjustable shades.

Instructor Features

As a conventional classroom, the instructor podium is located in the northwest corner of the room, and large areas of white board are available even if one or both projection screens are in use.

Instructor's Podium:

The podium is equipped with a computer and display for the instructor's use.  The podium has a document camera and side table. A wired connection is available for a carry-in laptop computer or other device (HDMI). The podium is also equipped with a ShareLink wireless interface, allowing a wireless connection from the instructor's or student's WiFi-equipped laptop, pad computer, or mobile phone.

Roberts 321 has dual projection capability, which allows different material to be shown simultaneously on the two display screens. For example, one screen can display a PowerPoint slide from the podium computer while the other screen displays a document camera view or an image from a laptop computer or other mobile device.

Best Practices Tips for Roberts 321

This room is a very bright and cheery room, with tall traditional windows on two sides, a high ceiling, and good acoustics. The dual-display capability allows the use of either display screen alone, or both display screen simultaneously.

• The screens are arranged in such a way that the whiteboard surfaces can still be used concurrently without being blocked by the screens.
• The versatility of the mobile tablet arm desks allows quick reconfiguration of the room for small group discussion and active learning. Students can be encouraged to circle-up for group work, then return back for larger discussion.  Along with the versatility, it is important to remember the obligation to have the students return the desks to a standard configuration at the end of the class period for the benefit of the next instructor.

Roberts 321 Classroom Features summary