Viewbook Test Harrison 123

Harrison 123 is a lecture classroom with flat floor, double dual projection, and innovative multi-height seating designed for parliamentary format:  half of the students sit on the east side of the room facing west, and the other half of the students sit on the west side of the room facing east.  Renovated in 2019, the room accommodates 76 students under normal conditions, or 41 with social distancing.

General Layout and Features

Although the floor is flat, the classroom features pseudo-raked seating through the provision of tables with three heights: a low table with individual desk chair seating in the front, a medium-height table with taller individual chairs, and a "bistro" height table with individual tall chairs in the rear. The seating is conventionally arranged with three rows facing east, three rows facing west, and an open aisle in the middle for the instructor.

The room features double dual projection:  screens are affixed to the east wall and the west wall, with two projectors facing each screen. The instructor can project images from two sources side-by-side simultaneously, and students see the screens above the heads of the students facing them.

The instructor area includes a fixed podium at the north end, and a moveable small podium on casters that can be wheeled anywhere in the room. It is ideal for a wireless pad computer or laptop, plus lecture notes and a beverage.

Wall mounted whiteboards are available on the north and south walls.

The tables and chairs are moveable, so different seating configurations are possible. It is important to remember the obligation to have the students return the desks and chairs to a standard configuration at the end of the class period for the benefit of the next instructor.

Instructor Features

With the unconventional parliamentary seating format, the instructor will generally want to use a pedagogical style involving large group discussion and student interaction, rather than simply lecturing from the fixed podium all the time.

Due to the side orientation of the seating, the whiteboards on the north and south walls are not positioned for regular lecture use. However, they can work well for break-out groups and non-lecture small-group discussion using different areas of the room.

The room has no exterior windows, but some natural light enters through glass panels above the two room doors located on the west wall. The acoustical aspects of the room were improved with post-construction installation of sound absorbing wall panels.

Instructor's Podium:

The podium is equipped with a computer and display for the instructor's use.  The podium has a document camera and side table. A wired connection is available for a carry-in laptop computer or other device (HDMI). The podium is also equipped with a ShareLink wireless interface, allowing a wireless connection from the instructor's or student's WiFi-equipped laptop, pad computer, or mobile phone.

Best Practices Tips for Harrison 123

As noted, Harrison 123 has dual projection capability, which allows different material to be shown simultaneously side-by-side on the two display screens. For example, one screen can display a PowerPoint slide from the podium computer while the other screen displays a document camera view or an image from a laptop computer or other mobile device.

A particularly useful technique is to bring a wireless device to advance the slide in the podium's computer PowerPoint on one projection screen, while simulataneosly using a wireless pad computer on the mobile podium with the ShareLInk connection for the other screen display. This allows the instructor to be untethered from the podium, moving relatively freely about the room while lecturing and demonstrating.

For example, the instructor can present a photograph or reference material on the PowerPoint slide, while simultaneously using the pad computer to show handwritten notes and sketches in real time.

Video introduction to Harrison 123:  video link (YouTube)

Harrison 123 Classroom Features summary