Evans Associates: Distance Education Classroom Design

Classroom Design Principles

ABSTRACT

Distance learning brings many benefits to students,instructors, schools and local citizens. It's a powerful, modern way to extend the talents of capable instructors to a wider audience and to give students a broader, richer education.

For decades, the traditional classroom has relied primarily on interaction with the instructor. In an interactive distance learning system, this is essentially still true. The difference is mainly that a video and audio system are added to an already functional classroom to extend the instructor's ability to reach students and receive their responses at remote locations.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Since all classrooms will be host or remote classrooms at any given time, they have been designed for both functions.Under the ultimate circumstances, the distance education classroom should have the following features:

         •  A room sized so that the entire class can be seen by the camera

         •  A room without windows is best. However, windows can be covered with drape coverings. Oddly enough, the drapes offer a reduction in light and good sound absorption.

         • A room that is isolated from sources of loud outside noise. Sound absorbing panels can be added to any room to reduce noise levels.

         •  A room with minimal heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) noise.Wrapping the HVAC ducts will reduce noise levels. Also, programming the HVAC to go on and off less often during class times will help reduce the noise levels. With respect to decorating the classrooms, the following concepts should be followed:

         • The color behind the picture monitors should be dark.This makes the monitors easier to see.

         • The color behind the students or instructor (camera subjects) should be mid-tone and subdued.This helps to minimize any high contrast with the subject's skin or clothes. The idea is to make the subject important and the background virtually disappear.

         • Other areas of the room (desks,floor, side walls, ceiling, etc.) should be as light as possible in order to reflect light, creating an even illumination throughout the room.

         • Cameras should be located so that all subjects can look at the camera when speaking; they should not speak to the monitors, but every one needs to see the monitors.

         • The furniture should be arranged in the host classroom so that students (live) and the remote students (on the monitor)can relate to one another in a natural way.

Lighting

          •Lighting fixtures should be coordinated on one color temperature to provide a consistent, color balanced environment.

         •Color temperatures between 3200° and 3500° Kelvin are best.

         • Minimum recommended illumination is 70-80 foot candles at 30" from the floor.

Audio

          • The room should have a Noise Criteria or NC rating of   NC25-NC35. The dBA equivalent level is 38 to 42 dB.

         • The floor should be carpeted and acoustical tile ceiling between 8 and 10 feet in height should be installed.

         • White acoustical ceiling tiles should be installed to perform the following two functions: (1) reflect ambient light; and (2) absorb room audio to reduce audio reflection and reverberation.

          • The classroom should not exceed 30' x 40' in dimensions.

         •   Network should be tested so all rooms and central offices are passing unity audio at an agreed upon level, i.e. 0 dB.

         •  Integrate and train a digital acoustical echo cancellation audio mixer.This addresses local room echo as opposed to a line echo.

         • When the number of open microphones doubles, the audio noise floor is raised to 6 dB.Use gated or push-to-talk microphones.

Electrical

• Electrical circuits serving the rooms should not be shared with electrical motors or heating/ventilation/air conditioning equipment. A sufficient number of circuits should be dedicated to room equipment.

• Recommendations on power and outlet locations are very specific to individual rooms and equipment compliments. Additional outlets may be required and existing outlets may need to be moved.

Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning

• A high volume, low velocity air exchange is ideal. This reduces the amount of ambient room noise.

• Distance Learning Classrooms should have independent temperature control to ensure a comfortable environment.

EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

The inventory of resources and the recommended equipment for each of the WSPSC sites is tabulated in the following pages.This inventory is for a variety of equipment; it should be considered that not all electronic classrooms will necessarily require all of the equipment on this list.All of the given prices already reflect an educational discount, and are thus below normal list costs.

For more information please contact:

Evans Associates
210 South Main Street
Thiensville, Wisconsin 53092
(262)242-6000
fax: (262)242-6045
http://www.evansassoc.com

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