Campus og studiemiljø - Bygningsstyrelsen

learning is. We build learning spaces in accordance with ideals of the
past, he writes. Should we then change and renovate all our classrooms?
Probably not. But maybe we should experiment more?
MIT has taken a significant step in this direction. At a time where
many would like large lecture halls in order to be able to present lectures
to a lot of people in one go, the university has done away with one
of its two large lecture halls. It used to seat 300 people in a traditional
set-up with folding seats. The lecture hall has now been transformed to
accommodate 100 students seated in groups around round tables with
enough space for the group members’ laptop computers. The teacher is
placed in the centre by a mixing desk from which he/she can pick out
relevant work from the groups. The room still supports traditional lectures,
but primarily problem-solving in group work. MIT has used this
room for a couple of years, and experience shows that this layout and
teaching form can pull particularly weak students up to a higher level.
It is far from all ICT-supported learning activities that require new
physical room types. Interchanges between students from several
parts of the world at the same time only require mobile equipment
and easily take place in flexible workshop-like rooms.
In other situations, a more stationary set-up is needed to ensure
reliability. MIT transmits lectures live to the University of Singapore
and vice versa several times a day. This happens from three minor
lecture halls, equipped especially for transmissions, i.e. they are
better soundproofed and without daylight. These three rooms in the
basement below the university make it possible for MIT’s teaching
staff to be heard across the world, just as students can easily collaborate.
MIT is now adding more rooms like this in keeping with
an increasing demand. It seems to be a quick and cheap way for the
university to establish itself and create visibility in other countries
or continents.
Studies indicate that although ICT can be integrated into many
existing spaces, new teaching types and ICT possibilities will emerge
that will require new spaces. Design and fitting out of classrooms
will change and supplement the types we know already. Maybe the
traditional lecture hall will become an arena characterised by not
having a hierarchy, and in which you collaborate and perform for
each other. The corridors will develop into an academic landscape in
which you disseminate knowledge and perhaps involve passers-by
in the academic work.
163