A new interactive computer classroom that opened this fall in Colburn Laboratory allows UD engineering students and their professors to share screens and to work simultaneously on problems.

Funded by a $445,000 grant from the Unidel Foundation, the new classroom is the first of its kind on the University campus. The design of the 52-seat engineering computer-aided active learning classroom--known as eCALC--is based on a similar center at the University of Pittsburgh. A faculty committee steered the project from conception through construction, to implementation in late September.

All the workstations have low-profile LCD monitors, and the CPU units are out of sight in a closet. "This maintains the line of sight between student and instructor and minimizes heat and noise," says Annette Shine, associate professor of chemical engineering, who headed the faculty committee.

According to Shine, students in design courses work mostly in teams, so this lab allows 26 double stations. "The room's features and layout help in cooperative learning, but there also are new ways of using the room in teaching," she says.

An instructor can broadcast specialty software onto all 26 stations at once, and all the software now available at a regular computing site is available here as well. Videotape, satellite television and an overhead projector with a camera and laptop computer connection are among other teaching tools available. A special collaborative software--known as NetOp School--provides a thumbnail monitor of all the screens, allowing the instructor to locate any teams that might be lagging behind. In addition, he can blank out all screens simultaneously to get the attention of the class.

The instructor can choose to project a single screen to demonstrate how to solve a problem--his own or that of a student team. If necessary, he can control an individual workstation, freezing it or controlling it in real time to bring that team up to speed. Students also can request help from their own station.

Another feature of the new classroom is that it permits easy use of UD's web-based Surveyor software, an online survey to see if the class understands a problem or a concept. As soon as a station submits its answer, the results flash back. "The survey doesn't indicate whether the answer is right or wrong, but what percentage of the class understands the problem," Shine says.

"In a regular class, usually no one will answer a question [at first]," she says. "Then, a smart kid says something, and everyone in the class will agree with her. This survey feature allows students to anonymously raise their hands with an answer.

"In turn, the instructor receives a composite view of the class. If everyone gets it right, the instructor can move on. Another benefit to teaching is that the professor can give pre- and post-tests or store or archive the results for the next semester."

Faculty can sign up on a schedule to use the eCALC classroom, which is open during normal hours of instruction. The site soon will be open as a regular computer laboratory on weekends and off-hours.

Technical information about eCALC, such as hardware and software specifications, is available on the web at [http://www.che.udel.edu/ecalc].

--Cornelia Weil