Classroom Technology Showcase | Classrooms

Spring 2022

The following is a list of new and/or interesting technologies available in various Amherst College classrooms.

Important note: All room use for courses is arranged at the discretion of the Registrar. Rooms may be reservable for non-course purposes via the Virtual EMS system.

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Classroom Response Systems

Teaching & Learning Application:

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- Classroom response systems, such as i>clickers or Poll Everywhere, can increase student engagement in classrooms.
- To use the physical classroom response system i>clicker, you must arrange for a receiver to be installed in your classroom and students must arrange to borrow a personal i>clicker for the duration of the semester from Amherst College IT.
Link to further information about classroom response systems

Teaching & Learning Application:
- A desktop document camera allows faculty to project “live” physical objects - books, specimens, small demonstrations, etc. Whatever fits on the camera’s stand can be projected!
List of classrooms filtered to those with a document camera
Submit a ticket to askIT@amherst.edu if you are interested in reserving a small, portable document camera.

Teaching & Learning Application:
- Classrooms with dual projectors allow the instructor to present content from two different sources.
- Examples: slides from a laptop and a website on an iPad, or slides on the podium computer and a Zoom guest on a laptop.
- If you only use one device, you can have both projectors display the same content for added visibility (or mute one projector, if both are not necessary).
List of classrooms filtered to those with dual projection
Example Classroom: Beneski 107 (aka Paino)

Some Amherst faculty using lecture-capture-enabled classrooms regularly record their lectures and demonstrations, and make the videos available to the students after class.
This gives students an opportunity to review course concepts as many times as they need, and has been especially useful during the COVID era for providing lecture access to students who could not attend class in person.

Teaching & Learning Application:
- Mersive Solstice Pods allow instructors and students to wirelessly project to a display, making it easy to quickly share work and content with the entire class.
- In rooms with multiple monitors, students can wirelessly project to their team’s display.
- Multiple students can project to a single display; for example, to compare work.
- As of Fall 2022 most classrooms have this capability!
Instructions for wireless projecting with Mersive Solstice
List of classrooms filtered to those with Mersive Solstice

Teaching & Learning Applications:

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- Many of the larger classrooms have built-in amplification systems to ensure that all students will be able to hear the instructor or presenter.
- Wireless lapel microphones are especially useful when the presenter needs to be free to move about the room.
- Amplification can be an important accessibility benefit for some students.
List of classrooms filtered to those with wireless lapel mics (and built-in amplification systems)

Teaching & Learning Application:
- Classrooms with multiple flatscreen monitors allow students to project their laptops to a monitor near their table during group or partner work, usually using the Mersive Solstice Pod wireless projection.
- Alternatively, the instructor can send their screen to all the monitors in the room, which is useful for rooms in which students may not all be facing in the same direction.
List of rooms filtered to those with multiple monitors
Example Classroom: SCCE E208

Teaching & Learning Applications
- Team-Based Learning (TBL) classrooms allow faculty to incorporate team-based activities into their classes. This room design prioritizes peer communication and collaboration with multiple hexagonal or rectangular tables that seat four to six students per group (depending on table type).
- Some “TBL” rooms also include one or several of the following: multiple monitors, extra whiteboard space, wireless projection, dual projection screens, extra electrical outlets, and/or wireless lapel mics.
List of classrooms filtered to those designed for team-based learning
Example Classroom: Webster 102 TBL Classroom

Teaching & Learning Application:
- Classrooms with lots of whiteboards (or even whiteboard walls!) provide space to students and instructors alike for creative ideation and sharing of work or ideas within a group or with the whole class.
List of classrooms filtered to those with whiteboards
Example Classroom: SCCE D103