All classrooms are designed so that professors can navigate the room easily while remaining within a few feet of every student. Four tiered "case study" classrooms have two rows of seats in a horseshoe configuration to further encourage student-teacher and student-student interaction.
All classrooms are "technology-enhanced," including either a projection screen and data projector or a LCD screen on the wall. Classrooms are equipped with large flat-screen computer monitors that allow students to collaborate; "annotation screens" allow students and professors to add comments to computer displays.
Some student study areas are equipped with LCD screens so students can plug in laptops and work on presentations. The building features wireless Internet access throughout.
The Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center triples its previous size with 2,850 square feet of space and now features dedicated tutorial spaces, a staff meeting room and a computer lab.
The Oral Communication Center nearly quadruples in size, to 2,306 square feet. It includes a 20-seat classroom where students can practice their skills and boasts technology such as digital cameras, data projectors, a flat-screen projector, whiteboards and teleconference capability.
The Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center grows to 3,650 square feet and features a conference room with a videoconferencing system and a "team room" where students can host discussions using an interactive whiteboard. Like the Writing Center and Oral Communication Center, it is now located adjacent to the commons area.
Next fall the Red Pit and one classroom will become "classroom capturing." A professor's remarks and the information on a data projector can be stored and replayed by students within their online blackboard space.
The Kirner-Johnson Building Makes a Grand Entrance
