ABAC’S FIRST MODEL CLASSROOM IN USE THIS FALL SEMESTER

In an effort to meet the ever-changing advancements in technology, Abraham Baldwin College has implemented an initiative to create model classrooms on campus. Classes will be conducted by faculty members in the Division of Social Science this fall semester in ABAC’s very first model classroom, Room 213 Bowen Hall. In the future, every division on campus will have access to a model classroom.

Each model classroom will utilize an instructional presentation center, which is a multimedia lectern that houses all of the most up-to-date, technologically-based instructional hardware, including the following: a PC, CD/DVD drive, VCR access, remote mouse, document camera--which allows the display of transparencies, 3D objects, texts, and more--projection screens (five feet in width), and connectivity to Local Area Network (LAN) and the Internet. All visual output will be provided by a mounted ceiling projector, eliminating the need for additional television monitors. The total cost of a model classroom is $15,000. This figure includes $10,000 for the hardware and $5,000 for the lectern.

“We’re committed to providing all the modern technology for our students,” ABAC President Mike Vollmer said. “These model classrooms are just a part of what we have planned to make certain that when our students leave this campus, they will be familiar with the most up-to-date technology possible.

“We also owe it to our hard-working faculty and staff to give them the technological tools to make their jobs easier. When they walk into one of these model classrooms, they will have all of the equipment literally at their fingertips.”

Dr. Chrystle Ross, Professor of Business Information Technology and the Director of the Office of Information Technology and Services (OITS) at ABAC, said the goal of the model classroom initiative is to set up hardware so that it is easily accessible to the faculty.

“Since all video output goes through the overhead projector mounted on the ceiling, there is no hardware setup for faculty members,” Ross said. “Even more convenient, the lectern provides easy access to the controls. Everything is literally a ‘click’ away. For example, a professor can change from a PowerPoint presentation on the computer to the VCR just by using the remote control. So, they can switch back and forth from one type of hardware to another with relative ease.

“The model classroom initiative has been moved to the top of the priority list. Students expect to see their professors using the latest technology, and the model classroom allows for that. It is an efficient and aesthetically pleasing environment that provides a positive, interactive learning experience for students.”

Amy Willis, ABAC’s Coordinator of Instructional Technology, will teach faculty members how to use the new model classrooms and help them feel more at ease with the various types of hardware.

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