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Effects of Smart Classrooms on Learning and Teaching Effectiveness The students’ point of view Richard Marcellus and Omar Ghrayeb Industrial Engineering, Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Illinois 60115

Abstract Student feedback on the relative advantages and disadvantages of traditional blackboard and technology-based instruction is presented. The two types of instruction are suited to different educational goals. Blackboard instruction is suited to presentation of problem solving. Smart classroom presentation is suited to transmission of basic facts and information. The classroom experience of students is very different for the two types of instruction. The relative benefits of the two types of instruction depend strongly on the students’ learning preferences and personal circumstances.

1. Introduction Recently, the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois University equipped four classrooms with audio-visual systems that allow display of videocassettes, paper documents, Internet pages, and interaction with commonly used software such as Microsoft Office. These classrooms are called “smart classrooms,” multimedia lecture halls, or electronic classrooms. Their purpose is to create new opportunities in teaching and learning by integrating computer, multimedia, and network technologies. However, it is not clear that using this new technology will automatically result in more effective teaching and learning. After all, extravagant claims were made for the blackboard when it was introduced1.

This paper focuses on students’ comparisons of instruction that uses the smart classroom to the instructional style associated with traditional classrooms. The comparison is limited to the usage of the classroom for presentation of information, and does not address issues such as the relative advantages of the two types of classroom for active and cooperative learning.

2. Teaching styles for presenting information Many instructors use smart classrooms to present information in the form of prewritten visual displays such as Powerpoint slides, PDF documents, graphics, and so forth. They may post handouts for these presentations on a web site, so that students may bring copies of them to class. Using this strategy, instructors do not need to spend any time writing on the blackboard.

Instructors who do not use the special equipment use the blackboard to support presenting information. They may write the bulk of the lecture on the board, write down only key concepts and overarching ideas, or use the board to map out class discussions.

3. The information available for analysis Information was available from two sources: 1. A survey was conducted to collect students’ comparisons of smart classroom teaching to blackboard teaching. The instructor of each course taught in a smart classroom was asked to distribute a questionnaire (Figure 1) to the students in the course. The questionnaire was also distributed to students in a course taught primarily through the Internet. No attempt was

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Marcellus, R., & Ghrayeb, O. (2002, June), Effects Of Smart Classrooms On Learning And Teaching Effectiveness: The Students' Point Of View Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10466