College of Design, Construction & Planning's co-Lab redefines classroom

November 30, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Forget everything you know about the classroom.

The University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning’s new Media:scape LearnLab — informally known as the “co-Lab” — breaks down the traditional barriers of teacher-to-student lecture rooms.

In the space, students and faculty from across disciplines co-create classroom content in real time. Essentially, learning is no longer a one-way transmission from faculty to student, but emerges as a collaboration among students with the professor as a guide.

“If you think about the design of the classroom, it has not changed much over the centuries, students still sit in soldier rows of seating waiting for faculty to impart knowledge upon them,” said Jason Meneely, assistant professor of interior design. “This space turns the tables on faculty as the sole gatekeepers of knowledge and information — it’s really about collaboration, problem-solving and connection.”

The spatial design and technology-integrated furniture solution, which follows the LearnLab’s research design principles and is funded by Steelcase Inc., allows digital media to become a seamlessly shared resource. Students instantaneously beam content from their laptops to all four classroom walls or to smaller flat panel displays to share with their immediate group.

The room, located in the Architecture Building, is made up of four Media:scape tables each mounted with two flat panel displays and a Web camera. There are also four LCD — projectors and whiteboards on every wall — magnetic white dry erase boards — that function as projection screens and surfaces for generating ideas.

To participate in “classroom co-creation,” the students pull a puck-shaped device out of the center of the Media:scape table, connect their laptops, and then have a variety of options on how to display their content. The four tables, ideal for teamwork, let group members share and contrast their work on dual flat panel displays. Or, alternately, the lab provides the ability for students to display their content for the entire class simultaneously on all four whiteboard projectors and all eight flat panel displays. In addition, the magnetic whiteboards allow students to “pin-up” physical media alongside any digital content they are sharing.

“The co-Lab provides our students with an extraordinary opportunity to learn collectively through collaboration,” said Peggy Carr, DCP’s associate dean for undergraduate student and academic affairs. “These skills will be essential in the evolving design disciplines. And in addition to enhancing our teaching capabilities, the co-Lab supports research being conducted in our college, particularly research about the effect of collaborative learning environments on learning outcomes.”

The new lab, funded in part by Steelcase and a grant from UF Student Technology Fees, is the very first LearnLab environment to be built and tested in the field that integrates Steelcase Media:scape technology.

“Teaching in the co-Lab this semester has been energizing both for my students and me,” said Margaret Portillo, professor and chair of the department of interior design. “The layout of the space, the tables of eight, the integrated technology, as well as lighting and color truly create a professional atmosphere for facilitating presentations, discussions, debates and — most importantly — collaboration. Students seem highly engaged, and, being visual learners, they very much appreciate the ‘surround image’ capacity of the lab.”